#i had a dream about the animation in the episode and it might be a case of deja vu

[questionablecuttlefish]

Okay Fine Let's Talk Timebomb and Season Two.

I do want to talk about this because I have a Lot of thoughts and feelings and it has been building up and building up, not only based on what's happening in other social spaces, but what people keep bringing into mine despite my best efforts to avoid it.

This isn't any kind of hatepost, I don't think I could hate Ekko or the ship if I tried, I just want to explain my very mixed feelings about the whole thing.

My likely-to-be-very unpopular take on Season Two's Timebomb romance is that it left me feeling uneasy and uncomfortable.

Not with what was in the show itself, I feel like that was perfect. Powder and Ekko sold me completely. They made me feel things. I even liked how Ekko and Jinx's story ended. I think it was beautiful, poignant, perfect...

...until.

'The Discourse' since, the way the fan culture has exploded around it, and particularly some of the creators' commentary on it, has made me sour on the whole thing.

It feels like I'm suddenly part of an increasingly small subset of people who saw what they did with S2 Timebomb and applied our media literacy to what was on our screens and got something very different to what the fandom consensus seems to be.

For context, I semi-shipped TB before this. Though I've always been Team Lightcannon, I had a lot of respect for timebomb, I understood it, I had read a few very good fics, I was just in the space of "Jinx has hurt Ekko too much for him to ever fully forgive her for murdering his friends, they might come to an understanding, and there will always be a silent undercurrent of love beneath the hurt, they may fight together on the same side again someday, but whatever bond they had as kids is broken and they can't go back, and both know it."

I respected, and still do, people who shipped them romantically, but I've always seen them as a broken childhood friendship being a much more interesting dynamic, and being hot for each other lessening that to an extent and not really adding anything to it.

All of his interactions with Jinx in season one are violent; she murders five Firelights point-blank in front of him in her intro scene, and Ekko reacts particularly upset to the pink-haired girl, Eve or Eva, whom Jinx shoots in the back. It's clear this isn't even the first time she's fought them. We don't know how many of Ekko's found family she's put on the Memorial Wall or how close he was with any of them.

Ekko is clearly convinced that "Powder" is gone, and the person who replaced her is a cold-blooded killer who can't be reasoned with. Leading to the Bridge confrontation, and this:

This is the first time Ekko catches a glimpse of "Powder", yes, but more importantly, this is the first moment he recognizes Jinx's humanity. He's hurting her, killing her, and he can't do it.

....and she knows he can't do it.

So, to save him the weight, she pulls a grenade, with the intent to kill them both, foreshadowing quite neatly where Ekko/Jinx (but not Ekko/Powder) is going to go in S2.

Fast forwarding from Season One here, Ekko disappears for 2/3rds of the second season, completely offscreen.

When we catch up with him he's woken up in the S2E7 AU; the Powder Timeline.

Here's where I start to get a little confused by the fandom take. Because, you know, I've seen enough Star Trek and Stargate and Supernatural and Batman the Animated Series and Quantum Leap to know exactly what this is.

This is the 'bottle episode', this is the 'Perfect World' trope, where the protagonists find themselves in an alternate universe - or trapped in a dream - or they've died or think they've died and this is their 'heaven' - where they have everything they ever wanted.

This is familiar storytelling and E2 follows a familiar pattern, the protagonist struggles to adapt to the surreal new circumstances, they are seduced by the illusion, particularly falling in love with someone in the Perfect World, but eventually, they start noticing something incongruous - something isn't quite right - (In this case, it's Vi's death, and Powder holding back her genius and hiding her grief to be support girl for others) - that reveals the Perfect World to be not as perfect as it seems.

And the hero has to choose to go home, because he realizes that this isn't real, it doesn't belong to him, he doesn't belong here.

Which is exactly what happens with Ekko in E7.

Which brings is to AU!Powder and Jinx.

And here's where I really start to struggle with the seeming consensus that the romance between Ekko/Powder automatically leads to Ekko/Jinx, like you can just transfer the one to the other.

I'm sorry, fam, I thought my basic media literacy was telling me that this girl:

Is not the same person as this girl:

....and I am not getting into any debate about "Jinx" vs "Powder" as identities within our current Jinx. I'm talking about Powder in the E7 AU.

AU!Powder is literally a different human being.

She may have been the same person up until the explosion in Jayce's laboratory, but from that fork in the timeline, she becomes a FUNDAMENTALLY different person to Jinx, shaped by different experiences, different relationships, different life events.

Powder's physicality with Ekko, as you can see in those GIFs, the casual intimacy, the clear affection, the way she touches him, looks at him, her awareness of him in her space, is so utterly opposite to the way Jinx interacts with him that if anything, it nailed home to me how savagely absent this kind of feeling is from his relationship with Jinx.

Powder loves Ekko. She leans on him, snuggles into him, touches his hands, dances with him, kisses him.

Jinx cares so little about him she barely makes eye contact and would casually kill him without blinking.

And I thought that was the point.

I really thought that was the whole point of E7. Being in the perfect world, getting his perfect love story with his perfect Powder, the girl Jinx could have been, but can never be, drove home for Ekko that his feelings for Jinx, both romantic and resentful, were tangled up in his illusions of "Powder", and it took living those illusions as a physical reality for Ekko to see his mistake.

To be true to himself, and true to her, Ekko had to let that go and go home.

To face his world's Jinx, and be there for her in her darkest moment, even if it meant giving up the love he'd found with Powder, a love that belonged to a different Ekko, for someone who could never love him back.

To me that was Ekko's most heroic moment, an act of selfless sacrifice. But that's what it was - a sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Season Two Jinx is not aware of any of this. The last time she saw Ekko was on the bridge where she nearly killed him, and for all we know she might have thought she succeeded.

She never talks about, thinks about, refers to, or even has scribble-nightmares about Ekko, not even once.

Season Two Jinx is, instead, having a love story of her own.

And Isha was and is a PUZZLE to me. Because she's more plot device than character, she isn't necessary except as a way to give Jinx a villain-to-hero arc and a way to reconnect to her humanity.

But she could have been Ekko.

If they really, really wanted us to have Timebomb Canon, instead of confining the entire arc to a bottle episode in an alternate timeline with a literally, physically different girl, they could easily have given all of Isha's considerable screentime to an Ekko and Jinx romance.

I'm sure Amanda Overton would have been on board with that. But that's not what we got. It's almost like reading two different fix-it-fanfics for the same character, put into the same show and running in parallel.

I'm not crazy, this is what's happening for Ekko in s2;

While this is happening for Jinx at the same time.

But Jinx's love story, too, ends with a tragic sacrifice.

And here's where the two stories finally intersect.

When Jinx is in her darkest moment, her absolute rock bottom, Ekko comes back into her life, a miracle, impossible, a Boy Savior.

But she's still ready to kill him.

Because she didn't dance with Ekko. She didn't invent a time machine with him. She didn't sit and watch the city lights with him and share a tender kiss and a heartfelt gift.

That was Powder.

Jinx and Ekko are resuming right where they left off on the bridge, right back to "I pull this pin and we both blow up".

They've both loved and lost, but their stories are absolutely unknown to each other. Ekko Doesn't Know About Isha. Jinx Doesn't Know About Powder.

It's only when Jinx (a genius, a reminder here) sees monkeys of her own design inside the Z-drive - recognizes her own handiwork, but knows SHE didn't make those - that, I think, sheer curiosity stirs her out of her darkness.

She has to know what that was about. She hesitates, just long enough for Ekko to speak. And, though offscreen, he tells her his story, and maybe she tells him hers.

And it's enough, just enough, to set Jinx back on her Redemption Arc, to become the hero Isha always saw in her.

Maybe even the hero Vi and Ekko saw in her, too. Her new costume is full of references to all of the people in her life who never gave up on her.

(side note, the yellow stars and crowns puzzle me, though - they're quite prominent, but who are THEY for? Isha? Maybe? Yellow isn't a color associated with anyone in Jinx's life, but that crown's identical to the one she scribbled on Demacia in Fortiche's map, is... this a very subtle future Lightcannon tease? Nah. I'm not that crazy.)

I mean her costume is also almost literally both a Fishbones and a Fiddlesticks cosplay, with her hair as Fiddle's tongue, so take from that what you will.

It's clear Jinx and Ekko war painted each other for the battle, but the Firelights are also similarly painted up, and (with Linke even confirming this) there really wasn't time to develop anything else, guys.

And I am, honestly, fundamentally angry at anyone who would suggest that, even if she'd been in any space to want it, our boy Ekko, one of the most genuinely good men in recent fiction let alone in Arcane, would take advantage of a girl he just talked out of suicide.

Moving on. During the battle, Ekko is knocked out and lying not far from Jinx. She doesn't even look at him, she leaps up to defend Vi instead.

And that's their final interaction on the show.

Instead of returning to Ekko, Jinx chooses one final act of sacrifice.

Ekko's final shot of the show is this.

He's sitting, alone, burning a mourning paper, where he sat with AU!Powder - where he and AU!Powder kissed - a place that has no significance to himself and Jinx, whatsoever.

It's little wonder who he's thinking about here, and which name he's burning on that paper. The girl he truly loved and lost.

For all he knows, Jinx is dead. But it's not only her he's mourning.

Or maybe he does know, or suspect, she's alive.

But either way, he's making one final act of sacrifice, too, with that paper burning into the breeze.

He's letting her go.

He's choosing his own story.

He's staying where he belongs.

Jinx may have become a symbol of the revolution, but it's Ekko who is, and always will be, the true hero of Zaun.

And this is Jinx's final shot.

Because let's face it, we all know she's on that airship.

She's "breaking the cycle". She's "walking away". She knows that Jinx has left too many scars on the people she still loves - on Vi, on Ekko, on the cities of Piltover and Zaun - for her to pick up the pieces.

She knows that if she's going to find out what "Jinx" might stand for now, she has to go very far away from everything and everyone. She has to leave it all behind and find something new.

Maybe even someone new?

And ultimately, that's why I feel the Timebomb we got was perfect, they shouldn't touch it, they shouldn't try to force it to be "Endgame", not because it couldn't have worked, but because that's the opposite of the story they told.

For the rest of my analysis, lol, this got a bit long but i have FEELINGS.

Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't buy Jinx and Ekko as a love story if they had actually told that love story. But they didn't. It had no screen time. They have less interactions in S2, maybe even in both seasons added up, than Vi and Loris. Let that sink in a bit.

We know it's Amanda's favorite ship, so she may have intended more, and may even actually give us all more at some point, but please, dear god, let's stop pretending they fucked or kissed or even held hands offscreen.

That's honestly a bit insulting to both of these characters, to insist hell or high water that this very important milestone in their relationship happened, but they just didn't even bother to depict it. That an entire love story (because it would be a whole one, remember, Ekko and Powder had a romance but Jinx did not experience any of that, she and Ekko are back at Square One) would just be cut for time.

They both deserve better than that.

Let's stop pretending there was some grand, horny, Forever Love story with 60 minutes of cut footage, all of it timebomb content, somehow left on the cutting room floor of an animated show where every single frame has to be deliberately hand painted.

Because if in some insane universe they had written, storyboarded, voice acted and animated an entire 60 minute additional timebomb storyline and then cut it from the show, that would itself be a searing indictment of the quality of the storytelling in that imagined arc, but that's not what happened. Anyone who knows how filmmaking works would shoot this one down, and the showrunners already have, so let's leave it behind.

I know Timebomb blew up hard, and I get it, but what we got on the screen is not confirmation that there is any relationship at all between Ekko and Current Timeline Jinx. If anything, Ekko and Powder's beautiful romance only highlighted the tragic 'never to be' of Ekko and Jinx.

And it's absolutely fine to look at the art book, look at the creator comments, and imagine what could have been. Draw the fan art, write the fanfic, imagine the what-ifs and the fix-its, those are all beautiful and valid expressions and deserve their space.

But don't go insisting it's "the canon" and going after the shippers of other ships for these characters as "not canon" or somehow offensive for existing, especially toward one particular ship that, yes, has been around much longer than timebomb, is uncool.

I think this is mostly people who are New From Arcane, it's Baby's First Ship and they don't know how to share space. The timebomb fans I knew pre-season two didn't do this, at least not often enough for me to notice or care.

But I'll just say to them, if a Timebomb follow up happens and they actually tell a good love story for Ekko and Jinx, I will accept it. Grudgingly, because I think Lux/Jinx is an untold, untapped story full of incredible character dynamics that would complete Jinx's story in ways that as much as I love Ekko, he's too tied to her past, he can't.

But I love Ekko, and I love Jinx, and I will accept it.

But I'll also say to them, if the followup doesn't eventuate, if things take a turn they don't expect, if Jinx's airship is heading for Demacia, maybe they'll have to experience just a taste of what it's been like for Lightcannon fans for ten long years.

And maybe that's healthy. Maybe that's okay. Maybe our endgames don't need to be 'canon' to have value and that's a lesson we should learn.

Maybe there's a new Light on her horizon, and that's okay too. Maybe Ekko won't be alone forever. Don't forget - until Arcane - his story had nothing to do with Jinx, and there was a whole lot of it.

More with the Firelights, maybe bring in the original Lost Children of Zaun from his old stories, his inventions, his parents, all could yet be in his future. Who knows? He might find a way back to AU!Powder - or she might rebuild what they worked on together, and come to him, no matter what butterfly effects that could set in motion...

But if Jinx is heading for a Light on her horizon, maybe Ekko might Explore some of his possibilities. Find a new Spark of connection. Just saying. Jinx isn't his only ship, either 😌

And it is okay for people to move on, and let go. Maybe, for two characters whose themes are letting go of the past, living in the moment, redefining their identities, and moving on, that's what their story should be.

[silent-stories]

𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x reader

Summary: Noah has trouble sleeping. Except when he's with you.

Tw: anxiety, insomnia, fluff

Noah had always struggled with sleeping. For as long as he could remember, a good night of sleep had been a distant dream, something just out of reach.

His head was always full of thoughts and his chest was heavy with an imaginary yet so real weight.

Nights were the hardest for him—his mind raced with thoughts, overanalyzing everything: the smallest doubts, the big uncertainties of life, songs he was working on but couldn't get perfect, the upcoming shows, and a problem with band merch he ordered but hadn't arrived yet.

His body would feel the tension, the weight of exhaustion, but his mind wouldn't cooperate. It was a never-ending cycle that left him frustrated, drained, and sometimes even a little hopeless.

But then, there was you. You had been by his side for years, through everything. You were there when Bad Omens was just a small band doing shows that had a maximum of one hundred people in the audience, and you were there when he sang on stage with Oli Sykes.

You were the one constant, the one person who seemed to understand him in a way no one else did, not even Nicholas and the rest of the band, sometimes. And, strangely, whenever you were around, sleep became easier to grasp.

It was subtle at first. He didn’t realize it right away, but whenever you were near him, whether sitting next to him on his bed after a long day, lying on the couch watching Tokyo Ghoul until late, or simply hanging out at your place and chatting during the night, he found himself drifting off faster than he ever could alone. It wasn't like any magic trick, or some profound change in his routine. It was you. You were the one who somehow made sleep feel less like a battle.

At first, Noah dismissed it, unsure of what was going on. He wondered if it was the way you were there—your presence somehow conforting him. Maybe it was the calming energy you exuded without even trying. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was something about you that eased him. He thought it might be the warmth of your body near his, your soft laugh in the silence of the night, the way your hand played with his fingers while watching a stupid movie.

There was something comforting about your closeness—how you made him feel safe enough to finally let go. Maybe it was the way you allowed him to rest his head on your stomach, feeling the soft rise and fall of your breath, the rhythmic beat of your heart. It became his anchor. With you nearby, he could finally relax. And, somehow, he found himself falling asleep much quicker than ever before.

Noah didn’t quite understand why it worked this way. You two had been friends for so long that it never crossed his mind to analyze the situation. But every time you spent the night at his house or he at yours, and he sank into deeper sleep beside you, he couldn't ignore the feeling that you were the key to his peace. He had been around people before, slept in bed with other people, and yet, it was only with you that sleep seemed attainable.

Part of him felt guilty—guilty for needing you in this way, guilty for relying on you when it was supposed to be something he could manage himself. But another part of him was grateful, so deeply thankful for your presence, for the comfort you unknowingly provided. It was as though, in a world that felt so overwhelming, you were the one thing that could bring him peace.

You loved the quiet evenings at your place, when the soft hum of some anime filled the room as you and Noah were sprawled on the bed, each of you nestled into your own little corner of the pillows.

"Dude! You didn't tell me Hide was still alive!"

"I would have ruined the surprise, look at your face now!"

You chuckled, shaking your head.

You were halfway through an episode, the light of the screen flickering across the dark room, when Noah's exhaustion slowly started to catch up with him and his gaze softened as he sank further into the comfort of your bed.

You glanced over at him, noticing how his eyelids seemed to be growing heavier with each passing minute. His usual chatter had quieted down, and now, the only sounds were the faint rustling of his clothes as he shifted, trying to get comfortable. He wasn't one to admit it, but you could tell he was tired. Really tired.

You knew he had trouble falling asleep, even though you had never seen him struggle with it when you were together, because he had mentioned it a couple of times, and you weren't about to wake him up to watch the last episode of the season.

You reached over, grabbing the blanket that was bunched up near your legs, and pulled it over the both of you, draping it loosely over his body too. It was a simple gesture, but one that you knew would make him feel more at ease. The bed was warm, and the space around him felt safe.

Noah’s hand, which had been resting beside him, moved slightly, searching for something. Your fingers brushed against his as he tried to find you in his half-conscious daze. Smiling softly, you let him take your hand, intertwining your fingers gently. He squeezed your hand once, his body finally settling, and that’s when you knew he was starting to drift.

The sounds from the show faded into the background as his breathing deepened, slower and more steady. He’d been fighting sleep for so long, but in your presence, surrounded by the quiet comfort of your room and the low murmur of the anime, it seemed like he couldn’t hold out anymore. The rise and fall of his chest began to slow, and before long, his head tilted slightly to the side, resting softly against your shoulder, his mouth slightly open.

You didn’t move. Instead, you let him be, the way he always let you be when you needed comfort.

His breathing was rhythmic now, soft and deep, the kind of sleep that only comes when someone feels completely safe. You glanced down at him, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

You shifted slightly, adjusting the blankets and making sure he was comfortable, but Noah didn’t stir.

You also loved the nights at Noah’s place, when the band was off doing their own thing, leaving you and Noah alone in his room, as usual. The bed was slightly messy with clothes and gear scattered around, and the low hum of the TV created a soft background to your conversation.

You were lying on your stomach, flicking through your phone, while Noah stretched out beside you, his head resting on his arm as you chatted.

“I mean,” he continued, his voice playful, “when I was a kid, I used to tell people Jackie Chan was my dad.”

You blinked, trying to process what he just said. “Wait, what?”

Noah shrugged, the grin never leaving his face. “Yeah, when I was like... maybe 13 or 14? I’d go around showing people a picture of Jackie Chan and say, ‘This is my dad.’”

You raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Why would you do that?"

“I don't know,” he said, laughing at the memory. “I was convinced it would make me cool. I’d pull out the picture—one from a magazine or something—and tell everyone that he was my dad.”

You chuckled, still processing it. “Okay, but what did people say when they saw it? Like, did they believe you?”

Noah smirked, leaning back against his pillows. “Most of them were like, ‘Wait, is that Jackie Chan?’ And I’d just be like, ‘Nope, that’s my dad.’ Like, no hesitation. Just totally confident about it.”

You laughed so hard you almost fell off the bed. “Wait, hold up. You actually said that? You didn’t try to explain? Just, ‘Nope, that’s my dad? And he randomly looks exactly like Jackie Chan?'"

“Yep,” Noah said, chuckling. “I’d be like, ‘No, that’s not Jackie Chan, what are you talking about?, that’s my dad.’ I’d act all casual about it too."

“I'm sure they all believed you,” you said, barely able to contain your laughter.

"Hey! Don't make fun of me now."

You shook your head in disbelief, still grinning. "Oh I'm not! That's one of the coolest things I know about you!"

"Okay, shut up now."

As the laughter died down, there was a peaceful silence. You both relaxed into the bed, the soft glow of the lamp casting gentle shadows on the walls. Noah, his eyes heavy, turned his head toward you, his body shifting closer as he found a comfortable spot.

He seemed so at peace in moments like this, with his hair splayed around the pillow and a slight stubble on his face that made your skin tingle every time he left a kiss on your cheek.

Slowly, his breathing deepened, and you realized that the ridiculous story had done what it always did—made him relax. Little did you know that the sound of your voice, more specifically the sound of your soft laugh, had also played its part.

You glanced at him, smiling softly. “You know I’ll never let you live that Jackie Chan story down. Like, ever.”

He grinned, eyes still closed, mumbling, “I’m okay with that. Just cause it's you.”

And, with that, he drifted off to sleep, your laughter still hanging in the air.

And then, there are the nights you and Noah didn’t spend together.

It was a typical night, one where you and Noah had gone your separate ways after hanging out all evening. You were at your our place, cozy in bed still on your phone, scrolling through social media, even if it was starting to get late, while Noah was at his house with the band, sleeping, or so you thought.

The silence of the night had settled in when your phone buzzed. You looked at the screen, a message from Noah popping up:

Noah: Hey, are you awake?

You weren’t exactly sleepy yet, and something about the message made you pause for a second, wondering if something was off. You quickly typed back:

You: Yeah. What’s up?

The message came almost immediately after yours:

Noah: Can I call you?

You were a bit surprised, but you could tell something was off. You quickly tapped the phone to call him before he could send another text.

You waited for the line to pick up, the ringing echoing in your ear. A few seconds later, you heard Noah’s groggy voice.

"Hey," he said, his tone a little rough and tired, "I can't sleep."

You felt a wave of relief wash over you that he was okay, but something in his voice made you worry. “You’re not feeling sick or anything, are you?”

“No, I’m fine,” Noah muttered, but it sounded like he was trying to fight off exhaustion. “Just... can’t sleep. I’ve been lying here for hours.”

You frowned, sitting up a little in bed. “You scared me. I thought something happened.”

“No, nothing happened. Just... I can't fucking sleep."

You could hear the frustration in his voice, and it made your chest tighten.

There was a little pause and you could feel him slipping into his thoughts again. So, in an effort to pull his mind away from whatever it was that was keeping him awake, you decided to tell him something to distract him.

“So, when I got home tonight,” you started, leaning back against your pillows, “I found a cat in my backyard.”

Noah let out a soft grunt, clearly intrigued. “A cat? Was it your neighbors'?”

You chuckled a little at his curiosity. “Not exactly. It was a stray, I think. It didn’t let me get close at all. Kept running away from me whenever I tried.”

“Aww, poor thing,” Noah said, his voice already softening.

“Yeah, it looked pretty hungry,” you continued, trying to keep the conversation light. “So, I left it a can of tuna outside. I didn’t have anything else, but I figured it might help a little.”

"That's sweet."

“Well, yeah,” you said with a smile. “I couldn’t just leave it there. It seemed so skinny. I hope it eats it. Maybe it’ll stick around.”

“Do you think it’s gonna come back?” he asked.

“Maybe,” you said, stretching out in bed, trying to keep your voice casual. “I mean, if it’s really hungry, it probably will. I’m hoping it doesn’t just go off somewhere else. It seemed like it really needed food. And love.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. You could tell Noah was picturing the scene, likely imagining the little stray cat outside in the dark. After a moment, he spoke up again.

"I hope it’s okay.”

“I hope so too,” you said softly. “I’ll keep an eye on it and let you know if it comes back. I’ll be sure to keep feeding it if it does.”

Noah’s voice softened even more when he spoke again. “You’re good... You know that, right?”

"I just left it a tuna can, Noah."

"I'm not only talking about the cat. It's almost 2 a.m and you are here talking to me because I can't sleep. Not everyone would do that."

You smiled, feeling your heart warm. “I care about you, Noah. You know I do. And I care about cats too." You added the last part with a chuckle.

“I'm glad you do, really. Thank you. I don’t say it enough.” Noah said with a yawn. “I hope the kitten will be still there tomorrow.”

“I’ll let you know if I see it again,” you said. “And I’ll be sure to give the backyard buddy more food if it comes back."

You could hear him chuckling softly, but then his voice started to quiet down again. He was fading, his breath becoming slower, deeper.

"Alright," he mumbled.

There was another long pause, and then, you heard it—Noah’s breathing had slowed, becoming even and rhythmic. You weren’t sure if he’d heard you, but then you heard a soft snore.

You smiled softly, happy to know he was finally getting some rest, but you stayed on the line for a few more minutes, making sure everything was okay. You could hear the calm rise and fall of his breath, the sound of him finally finding peace.

Your heart swelled with a mix of affection and understanding. Sometimes, you didn’t need to say much. Just being there to talk about random things in the middle of the night was enough.

Slowly, you pulled the phone away from your ear, a quiet smile on your face. As you hung up, you whispered to the empty room, “Goodnight, Noah.”

And with that, you settled back into your own bed feeling comforted knowing you could help him a bit when he needed you.

And then, there was the night he realized that how he felt about you wasn't exactly how he should feel about a best friend.

It had been hours. Hours of tossing and turning in bed, of staring at the ceiling, of the quiet sounds of the guys in their respective rooms. The restlessness, the heaviness in his chest seemed too much. He’d been trying to sleep since midnight, but now, the clock was nearing 3 AM, and it wasn’t getting any easier.

Noah sat up in his bed, running a hand through his messy hair in frustration. His body felt exhausted, but his mind? It was still awake, thinking too much, filled with thoughts he couldn’t push away. The only thing that ever helped was hearing your voice.

He grabbed his phone, almost instinctively, and typed out a text to you.

Noah: I'm gonna be a pain in the ass again

Noah: are you still up by any chance?

A few moments later, your reply popped up.

You: Yep

Relief washed over him as he read your message. He stared at his phone for a moment before typing out his next question.

Noah: Can I call you?

The wait felt endless, though it was only a few seconds. Then, the response came:

You: Gimme ten minutes.

Ten minutes. Noah frowned, puzzled. What could that mean? Ten minutes? Was it a code? Did you have something going on? Maybe you were busy. But at three in the morning?

Maybe you were with someone else. The thought hit him like a wave—was there someone else? A guy? A guy in your bed that wasn’t him? His chest tightened as the idea planted itself firmly in his mind. He tried to push it away, but the more he thought about it, the worse it seemed.

No. That couldn’t be right. You were his best friend. If you had a boyfriend or someone, it wasn't a problem.

Right?

The thought of you with someone else gnawed at him, eating away at his insides. Maybe he had no reason to feel this way. After all, you were just friends. But as the minutes passed and his overthinking spiraled out of control, Noah couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe, he wasn’t supposed to feel like this about you.

His mind was racing, heart pounding. Why was he feeling this way? It was just you, right? But then, the moment that snapped him out of his thoughts came when he heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening downstairs.

Noah blinked, confused. Was someone leaving the house?

He pushed himself up from his bed, trying to shake off the strange sense of unease that had gripped him. He stepped into the hallway, peering down the stairs. The door clicked shut behind you.

There, standing at the bottom of the stairs in the dim light of the hallway, was you. You were wearing sweatpants and a hoodie—his hoodie, the Bad Omens one he had given you a while ago. It was a small thing, but seeing you in it, with your hair tied up and your face still soft from sleep (showing that when Noah texted you you were actually sleeping), made Noah’s heart skip a beat. There was no guy. No one else. It was just you. There. For him. Because he couldn’t sleep.

You gave him a little smile. "Hey."

Noah couldn’t speak at first. He just stood there, watching you approach. All the anxiety and overthinking he'd been battling melted away when you took his hand gently in yours, your fingers cool from the night air.

"Hey."

It was a simple gesture, but it was exactly what he needed. You didn’t say anything else; you didn’t need to. The way you held his hand, the way you guided him back to his room, was enough.

He followed you back to his room in silence. As soon as you entered, you led him to his bed. The room felt warm now, the kind of warmth that only comes from someone being exactly where they were needed. You motioned for him to lie down, and without a word, he did.

You climbed into bed beside him, gently placing his head on your stomach. The soft fabric of your hoodie brushed against his cheek, and he could feel the steady rise and fall of your breath beneath him.

You reached out, running your fingers through his hair, the comforting rhythm of your touch calming him, making his mind slow down. Your fingers scratched lightly at his scalp, and for the first time that night, Noah felt the tension leave his body.

He closed his eyes, finally allowing himself to rest. Everything felt right, like he was exactly where he needed to be. He’d never felt so cared for in his life. You hadn’t said much, but your presence spoke louder than any words ever could.

"Why did you come?" he whispered after a few moments, his voice barely audible. His heart was racing for a different reason now—because, in that moment, he realized just how much you meant to him. More than just a close friend. How much you always had, and how he was afraid of losing you.

You smiled softly, your fingers still weaving through his hair. "Because you needed me." you whispered.

For the first time in hours, Noah felt really at peace. You had helped him in a way no one else could, just by being there, by taking care of him, by simply holding him.

It was the most tender thing anyone had ever done for him. And as he drifted off, he realized just how important you were in his life, more than a best friend, more than he had ever allowed himself to believe.

Tags: @anything-more-than-human @ladyveronikawrites @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @fadingangelwisp @xmads-omensx @iwasntstable @thisbicc @pathion @flowery-mess @into-the-grey @lacy1986 @tosoundlessdarkistare @stardustsirenmelody @thewrstinme

[magnagaruzenmon]

Recuperation

Okay now y’all are stuck with me for a while until Dinozen finishes his massive stories.

After a long day at work, you finally had the apartment to yourself. You dropped your bag by the door, kicked off your shoes, and shuffled into the kitchen. Tonight called for something simple—instant ramen with an egg and whatever leftover vegetables you could scavenge from the fridge.

With a steaming bowl, you sank onto the couch, remote in hand, ready to lose yourself in some anime. It took you about ten minutes of scrolling to land on Kaiju No. 8. The title floated online for a while, and curiosity finally won. From the first episode, you were hooked.

There was something about Kafka—the way he struggled with his responsibilities, the weight of his unfulfilled dreams—that felt oddly familiar. Sure, you weren't dealing with kaiju or life-or-death stakes, but the longing to be more, to be something greater, resonated in a way you didn’t expect. You leaned forward, ramen forgotten, completely immersed.

So much so that you didn’t even hear the door open.

“Hey, babe,” Tsuki’s cheerful voice cut through the action on-screen.

You flinched, fumbling for the remote and pausing the episode mid-explosion. Turning toward her, you found her standing in the doorway, framed by the warm glow of the hallway light. Her work bag was slung over one shoulder, and her dark hair spilled loose over her shoulders, a few strands clinging to her face from the cool night air.

“Oh, hey!” you said, still recovering from the surprise. “How was your day?”

“Long,” she said with a dramatic sigh, running her hands through her hair in mock exhaustion. Then she glanced at you, her lips quirking into a playful smile. “What about you?”

“Same,” you replied, matching her sigh for effect.

She laughed softly, setting her bag down by the door before crossing the room to sit beside you on the couch. The scent of her perfume—subtle, floral—cut through the lingering smell of ramen, a comforting contrast. She leaned in and kissed your cheek, her lips warm and soft.

“What are we watching?” she asked, her eyes flicking to the screen.

“Kaiju No. 8,” you answer, handing her the remote so she can read the episode description. “Just started it. Have you ever heard of it?”

Tsuki raised an eyebrow, scrolling through the details. “Mmm, I think Sua might have mentioned it once. Said it’s about a guy who turns into a kaiju, right? Sounds like your kind of thing.”

You chuckled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know,” she teased, nudging me with her elbow. “Big monsters, lots of fighting, some tragic backstory—sounds like you.”

You rolled your eyes, but her smile was infectious. “Well, it’s good so far,” you said, gesturing toward the screen. “Want to watch with me?”

She tilted her head, pretending to consider it. “Hmm, I was thinking of a bath and bed, but… sure. I’ll give it one episode. You can’t complain if I fall asleep halfway through, though.”

“No promises,” you said, grinning.

Tsuki tucked her legs under her as she got comfortable, resting her head against your shoulder. You hit play, and the room filled with the sound of explosions, roaring kaiju, and Kafka’s determined voice.

As the episode unfolded, Tsuki occasionally murmured comments—mostly teasing ones about the characters or the animation—but it was clear she was getting into it.

“You’re really good at understanding this now,” she said suddenly during a quiet scene.

“What?” you asked, caught off guard.

“Your Japanese, it's gotten better,” she said, gesturing toward the screen. “I remember when you’d have to pause every five minutes to look something up. Now you’re keeping up with all this kaiju jargon like it’s nothing.”

You felt your cheeks heat a little. “Well, I’ve been practicing. Plus when I was a kid I used to watch Godzilla all the time and a lot of the jargon is the same… I guess I have a pretty great tutor.”

Tsuki grinned, her cheek resting against your shoulder. “Damn right, you do.”

The episode continued, but your focus shifted. You made the mistake of glancing at Tsuki, who was sprawled comfortably on the couch. Her hair was slightly messy from the day, her makeup faded but was still perfect to you. She looked so effortlessly sultry yet so at home, and it broke your brain for a second.

“You’re so hot,” you blurted.

Tsuki sat up slightly, her eyes wide with mock disbelief. “Excuse me?”

"I said you’re so hot,” you repeated, more confidently this time. “Like, you just walk in here, hair all messy, talking about kaiju and complimenting my language skills—how am I supposed to focus on anything else?”

She laughed, her face lighting up in a way that made your chest feel warm. “You say the most random things sometimes,” she said, leaning in to kiss you. “But I’ll take it.”

The kiss lingered for a moment before she pulled back, her eyes soft. “Alright, let’s see if Kafka can beat that.”

“Good luck to him,” you muttered, earning another laugh.

As the episode ended and the credits rolled, Tsuki let out a contented sigh. “Okay, I see the appeal. Maybe I’ll stick around for a few more episodes. But first—” she stretched and yawned, “—I’m grabbing some of that ramen you’re hoarding. Save the next one for me?”

“Actually, I’ll do you one better,” you said, getting up and heading into the kitchen. Tsuki followed, curious. “Sit tight—I’m making breakfast ramen for you.”

Her eyes sparkled under the low light of the apartment. “Your famous breakfast ramen?” she asked, her voice laced with excitement. You nodded, already pulling ingredients from the fridge.

When you slid the steaming bowl across the counter to her, she took her first bite, her eyes widening like a kid opening a gift. “Ah, so cute,” you teased, and she blushed, mumbling something about how unfairly good it was.

“You ever think about becoming a chef?” she joked, savoring another bite.

You laughed but decided to bring up something you've been meaning to tell her. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about pursuing something new.”

Tsuki paused, her chopsticks mid-air. “You’re not leaving me, are you?”

“Not a chance,” you said quickly. “But I’ve been working on getting my pilot’s license—helicopters, planes, the works.”

Her eyes widened with admiration. “Wow. First photography, now flying? You’re really living up to that Nigou comparison.”

You rolled your eyes as she laughed. “Hey, I need something to do while you’re busy being a superstar.”

Tsuki gave you one of her smiles—the kind that radiated love and warmth, the kind that made everything else fade into the background.

“What are you staring at?” she asked, tilting her head cutely.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” you said, grinning.

She pouted, poking me with her chopsticks. “Fine, but only because you’ve been pampering me all night.”

You smiled as she finished up, then her eyes took on a different kind of hunger. She abandoned her bowl before approaching me.

"You know it's been a little while since we've had alone time like this," she says, with a sultry tone. You blink at her a few times until she brings you in for another kiss. This kiss brings with it her hands wrapping around your shoulders, as she brings you in close her tongue finds its way into your mouth. Tsuki breaks the kiss and then says, "I always love how sweet you smell. Whether it's vanilla oranges or blueberries. You always smell like dessert, and I think I'm in the mood for some right now."

Tsuki pulls you in for another kiss as your hands wrap around her and dance around her svelte body. You smile into the kiss as she continues to kiss deeper.

"Fuck!" she groans before guiding you to the bedroom. She lifts up her top and her petite and pert breasts greet you. She smiles and then says, "Take that cock out," You shrug and oblige her as she smiles before taking you into her mouth. Her pouty lips spread all around your cock as she begins to slide up and down your length. You moan and Tsuki says,

"you like that," as she speaks she slowly rubs your shaft before taking you back into her mouth. She lightly bites the tip causing a bizarre sense of pleasure that almost makes you explode then and there. Tsuki smiles and groans around your cock.

"Please cum for me, baby. I want my cream for dessert," she says, and that's what gets you as you pour hot cum down her gullet. And Tsuki smiles around your cock before lifting herself up.

"Thanks for dessert, now let's continue this in the bathroom so we can both get clean," she says.

[sillyandquiteawkward]

sillys (not so) lil info dump about how to be a human being. smiles

htbahb is an album from glass animals, of which notably, all the songs align with different people's lives, perspectives, and feelings, also of which are shown on the (various) album covers. so the easiest way to go thru the story is song by song. but i will show you the album art so you can get a gist of things before we go into details.

these are just some of the various album covers for htbahb, theres a bunch of them, but we dont need to see all of them to see the different lives of our characters.

1, Life Itself

this is our main character for life itself. you can call him a bit of a nerd if youd like. apparently his name is chuck rogers. they dont all have names.

hes an inventor, loves ray guns and strange technology, but as noted in his song, feels like he was raised with expectations hell never be able to achieve. his father as a child said he would be a superstar, but nowadays, he cant get a job and he lives with his mom. hes struggling with finding himself and his place in society and hes doing drugs and feeling like hes absolute rock bottom with everyone being against him. he feels alone and attacked and retreats back into his car or grandmothers basement and keeps folding back into himself.

in the music video for life itself, hes only seen in a few scenes, leading the charge against [popular st] with a smoke bomb as [mamas gun] watches knowingly from the sidelines as perhaps the real leader behind the assault. they seems to be accomplices with each other, as they ride in the car together and seem to be specifically looking for [youth].

2. Youth

now the main character for youth is tricky, it seems like we have two characters for youth, the small child, and assumedly, his mother the waitress. i think i like the interpretation that the mother is the main character for this song, and the child represents the album as a whole. alternatively i also like the idea that the child is youth, and his mother represents [premade sandwiches]. but for the most part, they are just both the characters for youth.

youth is a mother talking about her child, and to her child, almost in a detached sort of way as if they arent able to see each other. a mother speaking her hopes and dreams to her child. somehow these two have been separated when the child was young, perhaps through giving up to adoption, or hinted in the music video, abduction. she wishes best for the child, urges them to feel their mother at their side, and notes that theyve got her eyes. she lists off her wishes for them to be happy and have friends, and be silly. this perhaps is for the best, that they can be happy even without her. i particularly like in this song, the wordplay makes it sound like the singer is counting one, two, three, four, five, when they are singing other words like boy, to, free, funny, and fly respectively.

in the music video for youth, the child is seen almost haunting the mother as she works as a waiter, appearing in several locations playing and running around as she remains dutiful to her job. they briefly sit looking at each other in the same hotel room he had been taken to in life itself's music video.

3. Season 2 Episode 3

this is the main character for season 2 ep 3 and i think one of the cool changes between album covers, as we see a fully done up girl all put together with her make up on, and in the other, someone a bit more silly with her makeup removed. this might be the way she sees herself vs how other people see her.

the song is the lament of a boyfriend to his girlfriend, who seems to be glued to the couch, watching shows, getting high, not changing her clothes, and eating day old leftover food and most notably, mayonnaise straight from the jar. at the beginning of the song, the two of them are high together, however he soon sobers and realizes she refuses to get sober along with him. he tries to convince her that their relationship wont work if she keeps being like this and doesnt try, but she wants him back the way he was (high as well) and views him as a nag. she still makes him happy, but sometimes she makes him sad to see how she lives. even after an acceptance from the boyfriend that she wont change and will never be vertical and golden like he wants and that the relationship will never work out, the song ends hinting that hes picked up getting high with her again due to her calling him a killjoy and wearing him down.

in the music video we watch the girl splay out on the sofa, surrounded by her mess watching tv and doing nothing. halfway into the video, we are brought into the game she plays, as she battles [life itself] [cane shuga] and [the other side of paradise], all of which are men who could possibly be the boyfriend figure.

4. Pork Soda

this is our main character for everyones favorite pork soda. hes an older man, who for the most part seems pretty happy. wonder if hes harboring some long lost feelings or something.

the song opens with a street performance unintelligible to a normal listener, its like passing by a conversation, you are only able to hear bits and pieces of the spoken words. once the song starts you hear a story about this guy's girl who used to be fun and adventurous and would take him along with her. in the same breathe hes begging to go back to the days they were happy together. it seems like they fell out of love, or are in a struggling relationship bereft of communication or the passion it once had. shes only happy when theyre having sex together, and just looking at each other causes him heartache. the song talks about pineapples in my head, and being brain dead, as well as other references to diminishing mental facilities, that perhaps in their age, theyd forgotten about each other.

the music video gives us probably the most clear story line, as we see the wife prepare a meal before sending it through a dumbwaiter into the basement for the husband. there he sits alone, watching tv. up above the wife plays with their dog, imagining the dog is the younger version of her husband. all of her time is dedicated to the dog, and all of his time is dedicated to the tv. they have forgotten they love each other and live in the same house, but live in separate worlds. only after the dog destroys his tv and the husband destroys the floor above him and under her feet, do they finally get back together as he catches her as she falls, surprised and exhilarated for the first time in forever. and things seem to be better as they finally occupy the same room together again.

5. Mama's Gun

This is the main character for mamas gun. shes a victim of the perception of her mental illness. i think this is my fav song of the album.

during the song, the woman initially admits that she took her gun and made her husband go to neverland. however she also says she loved him a lot and he was perfect. through bits and pieces of the lyrics you can come to the conclusion that she has some sort of psychosis, or perhaps schizophrenia in particular as she notes many different voices and figures talking to her. the song references dr swango, a doctor who killed his patients, however he insists to her that him and all the other voices in her head are too from neverland, and that she was a murderer just like him. is she really guilty of murder? what really happened? the flute played during various instrumental parts of the song is a sample from the carpenter's mr. guder, a song about a man who does what hes supposed to in society and his job and gets nothing from it. karen carpenter herself was a victim of her own mental illness and they say that theres a specific purpose for the sample chosen. once the lyrics pick back up, the voices again pipe up and tell her she was a murderer, even the voice who had never spoken says so, so he must be telling the truth right? during the final bit of the song, it seems like her husbands voice joins into her collection of voices, as he bears a cheshire smile and asks her to lay with him once again, and that hes waiting for her. in the end, its unclear what happened with her and her husband, as she goes back and forth saying she was violent, she was doing nothing. this song was inspired by a story they heard of a woman going into a drug induced black out for a month and reappearing in another state with no memory, and the lingering fear that shes done something terrible wrong, and never being able to have the closure of knowing what happened.

theres no music video for this song, but we see her appear in life itself. she and [life itself] drive to the hotel where [poplar st] is holding [youth] captive and attempt to break into the room hes in.

6. Cane Shuga

this is our main character for cane shuga. hes exactly how he seems, a rich white guy who is, of course, using that cane shuga all day everyday.

cane shuga presents a dialogue from two parties, two people in a relationship. the singer promises he wont do coke anymore, that he wont be a john doe in the hospital. the chorus however is the high he rides on, where he thinks hes hot shit, hes 007 james bond, hes as powerful as kim jong, with a popped collar as he looks into the glare of the mirror and hypes himself up after using in the bathroom at work. hes untouchable. the second chorus is his partner, giving up on him, their love has burned up, just like his drugs. theres a humorous line of putting their foot down saying ive had quite enough, but corrects themself and sarcastically says or lack there of, that they arent being given anything anymore by him. regardless, their verses and conversation is short. the chorus of his high is the main focus of the song, and repeat over and over as the days continue.

[cane shuga] appears in season 2 ep 3's music video as [season 2 episode 3]'s potential lover. their stories do seem to entangle, they both are drug users dealing with partners who want to stop using. some people say that he is her partner, that he stops using for her, but falls back into the habit. however this doesnt exactly line up with her song, as she doesnt want him to stop. i think its part of that unreliable narrator theme weve seen in previous songs. people have different experiences with each other and get different messages due to the issue of communication. im not exactly on board with these two being together, but i do understand where people are coming from with this take.

7. [Premade Sandwiches]

this is a spoken word interlude, sped up and pitched down. there doesnt seem to be a character paired with this song, and on cd this song is simply a bonus track hidden behind cane shuga. on first listening its very difficult to catch what is being said, but over and over the speaker is talking about standing in line for various things. this song discusses mindless over consumption of drugs, of buzz words, of natural foods for your dog, watches, new clothes made to look old, the junk drawer filled with phones you dont use, with pens that dont work, with random shit you never needed just piling up. people stand in line and they dont even know why.

8. The Other Side Of Paradise

this is our main character for the other side. hes gonna be a basketball player and make it big babyeee.

so its a bit unclear and vague in the lyrics, but it seems our narrator and the basketball player used to be close friends. he even seems to be in love with the basketball player, calling him my love. but the basketball player leaves their home in new orleans to go chase his dreams out west and make it big, leaving our narrator's side. he told the narrator not to worry but after phone calls, it seems like basketball boy got a girlfriend. hes gloating to the narrator, hes got a girlfriend now, hes got a gold camaro, hes made it big, meanwhile our narrator is at the payphone hearing all this and his world turns in slow motion. no longer is the basketball player his baby blue anymore. hes moved on, hell never have another chance to love his friend. hes so angry and hurt, but he balls up his fist almost in a fight or flight reaction, and settles for the ghost of his love. hed always hoped for a paradise where they could be together but it seems like fate had other plans. he laments the basketball player for ditching them, saying here in new orleans people dont leave and ditch their lady (him). he wants to be loved and pampered by him, not her. heres where the vagueness comes back, the narrator seems to be so distraught that he rather kills himself, or finds that his body looks wrong, perhaps that hes not a girl that couldve been loved by the basketball player.

he only ever appears in the music video for season 2 ep 3 as one of the bosses [season 2 episode 3] defeats, claiming ball is life. there is a music video that was recently released for this song, however it does not depict the basketball player.

9. Take a Slice

this is our main character for take a slice, hes a bit of a slut but he makes it work :) the spoken intro to this song is the real recording the band took while talking to a male fortune teller, so the sausage candle is rather real or a lie from the fortune teller.

take a slice regales the story of a young man who finds pleasures in the sultry sexual aspects of life. hes sucking on cigarettes in a way freud would roll in his grave, hes painted his nails dark, has piercings, hes asking for another slice of cherry pie, cherries being a symbol for all things sex and lust. hes smitten with the idea of being a prize to be sought after, and after trying sex work for the first time, realizes this is the job for him. hes going to fuck his way through college, and sleep during class dreaming of you. wink. hes rolling in the dough, hes got a gold car, hes maybe dabbling in drugs too, and hes filthy and he loves it.

10. Poplar St

ms moore is the main character of poplar st, and shes a cougar, and not the good kind.

a young boy lives a typical suburban life. hes got bandaids on his knees and hes climbing trees. but one day, he sees mrs moore and mr keats have sex. immediately this drags him out of his childhood, hes such a man now that he knows what sex is. this is the first step of her grasp around him. as he gets a bit older, his mother calls her prosti-tits and looks down upon her. but the boy looks up to ms moore, despite his mothers words. mrs moore sees his desperation and pulls him into her clutches. theres a very specific voice crack when her teeth sink in deep and the note hes singing falls flat. this bit of pain expressed is highly contrasted with the chorus coming back in, the boy once again considers himself a real man, a true romantic, this is what all men dream of, isnt it? but there are dead flowers in the sand, hinting that these roses arent just romantic. the next bridge plays and interesting word switch up. it starts out with her begging him for more as she sits in her underwear, and then switches to him begging her for more in his underwear. theyve both wasted their days, but when it comes to his youth and her age, the only one wasting their childhood is him. the song concludes with mrs moore calling him up collect (so he has to pay for the phone call, not her) one day and breaking up with him. and then it all gets pulled out from under him and hes just a boy again. this tells the sad tale of how men and boys' sexual assault and grooming often is pushed to the side because they think this is how things are supposed to go, that they are supposed to have sex and to be used and abused from a woman is supposed to be an achievement. but really all it is, is abuse that leaves him feeling terrible.

11. Agnes

this is agnes :) i think it was mentioned at some point that he takes pictures of people when they arent looking, so to me, i like to think hes the one capturing everyone pictured in this album. bear witness to other humans.

the song starts out where the singer is appearing to try and comfort agnes. how did it get this bad, agnes used to just take pills and smoke a little, somethings changed perhaps. the singer notes agnes is just going through the motions every day, numb, and nervous, but hes swelling with emotion all the same. here the singer laments he wants to hold agnes like hes mine. theres a longing sadness in the lyrics. the next verse confirms the worst, while agnes was perhaps a genius when it came to the romantic, he was a deeply depressed and lonely person. he started to rely on the drugs and the alcohol he used to use recreationally, just to live a normal life. and he ultimately commited suicide. the singer wonders where the agnes he used to know went. however the singer reconsiders, and accepts that agnes did his best, life must feel so unbearably long when its soaked in sadness, living a false life filled with depression. so it goes, the singer thinks, but cant help but to feel lost. the only thing he can think of is agnes, perhaps considering all the art agnes made, all the photos he took of other people, perhaps just thinking about his friend in any aspect. grief is funny like that. on the vinyl record, this song's last seconds repeat over and over until you stop the machine from playing, like a lingering memory you cant stop thinking about.

the agnes music video is much different than the others, as it focuses on the singer, dave bayley as he sits in a centrifuge and attempts to sing the song. this causes a very physical reaction and he struggles to even lift his hand, by the end of it hes sweating profusely and unable to catch his breath, but he persists and continues singing. he mentions this was a mere fraction of what someone going through depression could feel like. during the music video as well, he appears to be looking across from a mannequin, perhaps the stand in for himself once hes put himself in agnes' shoes.

thanks for reading if you did i love being insane. all of these are my personal thoughts on the album, and might not exactly match up with your interpretation, but i have tried to keep to what we believe is what glass animals had in mind for the album and these characters.

[melrosing]

so stuff I’ve not liked about the finale and S2 more generally…. unfortunately it’s a lot and i'm thinking i might need to say this in several parts but first and foremost: the pacing really was shit and i don't just mean there weren't enough action scenes i mean the whole season they've had almost nothing to say about these characters and have just been making us think they do by having them repeat the same ham-fisted monologues about power and peace and the cost of war and whatever whilst moving at a glacial pace from one minor plot point to another and by the end of it most of these characters STILL haven't changed, and where they have it feels undeserved, and yes they really are at roughly the place they started so what have they even got to show for these eight hours of TV?? like damn

and I do get that the writer's strike has really effected them here and HBO hacking two eps off their season affected them too and that really can't be helped. but the pacing has been pretty poor from kick off and I can't just put it down to this being a more 'internal' season. i do not care about big battles. it's fine to have a season of a show that’s more about the characters’ interiority rather than plot action. that’s the exact reason why I like AFFC so much.

but these characters barely have interiority like idk what to say. some like Rhaenyra, Jace and Alicent have been spouting the same monologues every episode about wanting peace/wanting agency/wanting peace again etc etc, and the more interesting moments like Alicent's apparent suicide attempts, Rhaenyra's butchering of the dragonseeds etc... I mean where IS the interiority here?? unless they are spelling out a character's thoughts in the most literal way they can (as per Jace's diatribes about the dragonseeds), they leave their audience to do absolutely all the work by showing us nothing, and just leaving us to figure that the characters must be having some kind of thoughts but y'all can decide what they are.

and even Daemon, whose entire ARC was about his interiority.... like look I was so so ready to love this arc. i love fucked up little dream sequences. i love harrenhal. i was really enjoying the angle they took with alys. i was here for it. but now we've seen the whole of his S2 arc, im going to say yes, it was intended as a redemption adjacent kind of arc, and it isn't a very good one. Daemon has a handful of weird dreams, gets shouted at by some Riverlands folk, and he's a changed man.

consider the character everyone compares Daemon to (and who I'm always more than happy to talk about) and that's Jaime. and look at the sheer ground covered in ASOS: Jaime breaks out of a dungeon, Jaime meets a younger version of himself, Jaime gets his hand hacked off, Jaime reveals his anime villain backstory in the bath, Jaime deals with Roose Bolton, Jaime has a weird weirwood dream, Jaime fights a fucking bear - and at this point we're still only about halfway through.

now in contrast, what have they actually managed to do with Daemon this season. where has that finale moment with Rhaenyra been earned. this is not slow pacing for the sake of powerful character development, it's slow because they don't have anything else to say.

and also look at the state of characters like Aemond who seemed really promising in S1, yet in this season he barely reflects on the fact that he hadn't meant to kill Luke, and this war is an accident that he started, etc etc - he's just a killing machine lol. there were some nice touches in there, like i say i enjoyed Helaena telling Aemond how he'll die in the finale. but I no longer trust these writers to do anything with their more inspired ideas because they just consistently fail to do so.

look at Baela!!! like my god, has Baela had the opportunity to do anything except A) what she's told and B) counsel men on their feelings. she has like one moment looking at Daemon and you feel like the series is going to explore how complex it is to be Daemon Targaryen's daughter.... but my god they never do!! so where IS this interiority we've spent eight episodes on! what have they got to show for it!!

and i talked more weeks back about how frustrating i've found the writing of women more generally in this series and as of the finale I am finding it so egregious and so condescending. women want peace. women want to protect their children. women are tired of men. women are tired of war. women are trying to end this war peacefully. women are pacifists. women hate violence. and so on and so on and so on like jesus christ who am i even talking about here. even i don't know. it's so boring. it's so dry. and it requires female characters to always be the paragons of virtue, never do anything truly condemnable, never be unlikeable, never fucking anything except stand around saying how much they hate this. im bored of it and it makes me angry that they would do this in a series that specifically seeks to make everyone grey and everyone complex - they keep suggesting that might extend to the women before abruptly shutting it down again. see Alicent and Rhaenyra even STILL, after EVERYTHING, trying to peacefully shut down the war for the sake of love and friendship in the goddamn finale. I don't believe it anymore!! it's not cute! it's just dull!!!

and finally that just kind of brings me to how shortsighted a lot of the plot developments seem, when you see how the characters fail to reckon with their pasts or shit that just happened. Rhaenyra and Mysaria make out, and then that's never mentioned again and the tone never changes between them. Rhaenyra is done thinking about Luke. Helaena is done thinking about Jaehaerys. Aegon actually didn't mention Jaehaerys in the list of things he's 'lost' in that finale. Alicent's relationship w Viserys was just now condensed to 'we were fond of each other but he always liked your mum better'

like idk it's just. if this season's pacing is all about giving characters the chance to change and grow into the people they'll be when this war REALLY kicks off.... do it. write it. do not just write the same monologue a dozen times and hope it'll hit harder with each. doesn't work like that. sorry.

[absolutebl]

We've had recent disappointments with the endings to series. For me, Last Twilight, Only Friends, and 23.5 stand out. While I loved the Sign to the end, there was that unexplained Tharn getting his freedom from Chalothorn, which made the very ending not quite perfect. And while I loved Century of Love all the way through, I know some folks were disappointed at the ending.

What are some QLs that you consider to have really strong endings?

OOOO what a great question!

10 BLs With the Strongest Endings

Some BLs had better endings than the rest of the show deserved, and some were saved by the ending, while still others built up to a good ending throughout. So I suspect it kinda depends on ones definition of strong. But here are mine (you'll never guess what's at the top? but...) it's in no particular order

Seven Days - no but ACTUALLY think about it. That ending is truly phenomenal. It ties everything together, gives hope for their relationship without being cheesy AND is crazy romantic, plus it brings the narrative full circle. That ending shot, the direction, the plot, the characters, and the story ALL tied in a neat little bow. It ends by indicating that something is starting for them, something familiar it's just now they are together. Fabulous.

Light On Me - on the beach, the whole friendship group, the kiss that mirrors their couple habit of cheek squiging? Peak YA BL. It reminded me of Make it Right, and that's no bad thing... for me.

Our Dating Sim - domestic boyfriends and then the pan over to all their couple photos. So exactly them.

To My Star - yeah, the sex scene, but remember this was when we finally realized that JiWoo not only liked him all along but actually desired him all along. The tsundere character breaking open for us to see the soft underbelly. Suddenly, all of his behavior made sense in retrospect. They used the final ultra romantic sex scene as a CHARACTER REVEAL. Fucking genius.

Semantic Error - the BOYFRIENDS of it all, the harken back to both the anime and the manga (with that spank bank file), the teasing and then the breaking of the forth wall. It was multiple cheeky punches out to the audience in a tiny stinger of a scene. Not to mention it had a kind of BL "ending fairy" thing that connected to them both being idols. Perfectly executed.

Love For Love's Sake - back in beach territory but wow. I mean this show starts with an ending. And it takes a lot for me to believe in the happiness of a parable about death and self worth. They managed it with this show. But that ending was killer.

My Beautiful Man - the ending made me reassess everything about the show, the story, and the characters. The ending made me love the show. It changed my mind. It BLEW my mind. I might have kinda lost my mind. In real time.

Unknown - there were struggles with this show and not everyone enjoyed the ending but I totally flipping loved it. FINALLY. You can't tell me that "you don't even know what I dream of" line doens't live in your head rent free.

Unintentional Love Story - not the ending scene so much as the whole final episode, it's so good. It brings the story together, we get multiple big realizations, sad baby, learning that baby was abused too, defending baby, baby defending himself. RINGS!

The Eighth Sense - so much peak boyfriend after so much angst. The casual language play and teasing, the stealing of the drink, just everything, and also how very very college it all is.

10 Others I just LOVE

Be Loved In House: I Do - ultra pasteurized cheese fest

Laws of Attraction - THE CAPED WEDDING OUTFITS

About Youth - rainbow kiss cheese fest

Long Time No See - BLOOD COVERED KISSES

Restart After Come Back Home - the pan around lens flare kiss and everything it MEANS

Bad Buddy - It was so CLEVER

DNA Says Love You - the claiming and then the tussle at the cafe? Gorgeous. Adorable. No notes.

Oh! Boarding House - a family gathering while the dads are holding hands behind the couch, adorable

Where Your Eyes Linger - that damn glow up

Tinted With You - perhaps... poly?

Wow... so few Thai BL. I guess this is Korea's strength in the BL sphere? Also more Japan than I expected and outsized rep for Taiwan. (I actually could have stuck a few more from Taiwan on here but they just get SO CHEESY.)

(source)

dated mid August 2024, not responsible for great endings after that date

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

A/N: based on an episode of Gilmore Girls

Eddie was sprawled out on his bed, strumming on his acoustic guitar, debating on whether he could get away with writing a ballad about Steve’s hair. He was in the middle of writing a chorus when his phone rang. Eddie grinned and picked up the receiver of his brand new Garfield phone.

"Heeelllo, this is Eddie Meowson speaking," Eddie said.

"Oh my god," Steve’s voice sounded from the other side. "You got the phone, didn't you?"

"Oh, yeah, baby," Eddie said and the other end went silent for a moment. "Hello?"

"Uh, I'd be laughing at that totally adorkable greeting, but I'm freaking out!" Steve exclaimed. "I have, uh, a situation."

"Now, Steve, don't be afraid of it. It's probably more scared of you than you are of it. It's supposed to get big like that, especially when you get excited. Now, I don't know what your mom and dad told you - ," Eddie grinned.

"Eddie! I know all about the birds and the bees! My nanny was the one who gave me the talk!" Steve yelled in frustration.

"Well, now, that's just sad," Eddie said.

"Why did I call you?!" Steve screamed.

"I don't know, big boy, why did you call me?" Eddie asked.

"You're good with animals, right?" He asked.

"Well, I'm able to approach the feral cat in the neighborhood without getting killed," he replied.

"Look, Dustin entrusted me with looking after his baby chicken. It's for a science project, and he really needs to ace it. He was supposed to do it this weekend, but his Aunt Kathy got into a car accident, so he's going with his mother to help her out. Anyway, he kind of dropped this in my lap, and it's not like I could say no to him, anyway. Jesus, I'm starting to sound like Robin. The bird got out, Eddie! I don't know how she did, but she did! I can't find her, and I don't want to look into our kid's cute but manipulative eyes and tell him that I lost his goddamn bird! Can you come help me or not?!" Steve shrieked.

"I'll do anything for you, sweetheart," he said and he meant it.

"Thanks, Eddie," he said softly. "I'll see you in a few."

Eddie gently set his guitar aside before leaping out of the bed with an excited holler. It was finally happening! Steve finally made the first move. . .after so many months of flirting, Eddie was starting to think that it was never going to happen. Really, though? A bird? He figured it would be a better excuse than that. Eddie's heart was pounding. He called Dustin their kid. Their kid. He has spent so many times over the last few months dreaming of bearing Steve Harrington his six little nuggets, despite the fact that Eddie had been born without the ability to give him that. . .unfortunately. He had chalked it up to the fact that Steve had saved his life, but Wayne had pointed out that thinking up baby names for future children probably meant that Eddie was in love with the man. Once again, Wayne was right. Eddie put on his best crop top and stuffed supplies in his jacket before rushing to the front door.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Wayne asked.

"I'm going to get my man," Eddie grinned.

"About goddamn time, you go any slower you'd be a snail," he replied.

"Ugh! Wayne! You're not as funny as you think you are!" Eddie shrieked.

He pulled up to Steve’s house and fixed his vest. He checked his breath before walking up to the front door. Eddie froze. Oh god, he didn't get any flowers. Just as he was about to turn around, the door opened, and he was yanked quickly inside. Steve slammed the door closed behind him.

"Oh, thank God, that you're here," Steve said.

"You're going to be saying a lot - wait, what was that sound?" Eddie asked. "I think your fire alarm might need some batteries."

"That's the baby chick! I can hear her somewhere, but she keeps escaping me!" Steve exclaimed.

Eddie looked at the mess around them and then at Steve.

"There's really a baby chick!" Eddie yelped.

"Yeah, of course there is!" Steve yelled.

Eddie flashed his dimples before slipping out of his vest and jacket.

"Let's find this chick. . . STELLLA!" Eddie yelled.

"Stella?" He asked.

"It's a good name for a chick," Eddie said. "At least, I think so."

"That name sounds familiar. Oh! It's one of the names on a list that you left here! Character name ideas?" Steve asked.

". . .yeah, something like that. . ."

Looking for a small yellow baby chicken was a lot more difficult than it should be. It shouldn't be faster than them and yet. . . Stella did not want to go back in her cage.

"Okay, look, I get it," Eddie said. "I wouldn't want to be caged either, but this situation right now means that you should definitely be locked up."

"Yeah, I don't think she understands any of that," Steve said.

"Do you want my help or not?" Eddie asked. "STEEELLLLA!"

Eddie felt Steve watching him as he began to make chirping noises.

"Really?"

"Shut up, Steve," Eddie said.

Stella was a tricky little girl. As soon as she had been spotted, she took off. Steve and Eddie both dove for her, but all they ended up doing was breaking things or running into each other.

"Come on, sweetheart," Eddie cooed as he moved towards the noise. "Come to Mummy and Daddy."

"We're not her parents, Eddie," Steve said.

"Well, she doesn't know that. Maybe that's what she's looking for. . .a family," Eddie said. "I'm starting to get a little attached to the shit. She's such a menace."

"Eddie! There she is!" Steve yelled.

"Shh! Don't scare her off! Oh, look at her. . .she's going to run again. You can see it in her beady little eyes," he whispered. "Hey, Stella, you don't have to worry about us. . .we're not going to eat you. . .not yet, anyway."

"Eddie!"

"I said we're NOT going to eat her!"

"Shit, Eddie, she's running again! Damn it!"

A little while later. . .

"GODDAMN IT! IT'S BEEN TWO FUCKING HOURS!" Eddie yelled.

"It's been 30 minutes, Eddie," Steve replied.

"Oh my god, time has lost all meaning!" Eddie groaning.

"Yeah, I don't think she's getting tired yet," Steve said.

"Okay, I take it back, Steve, I'm going to eat this fucking bird," Eddie growled.

CHIRP, CHIRP, CHIRP!

"I think she heard you," Steve muttered.

"No, baby, Mummy didn't mean it!" Eddie exclaimed. "I love you again! We can chill, hang out, talk about boys or girls if you prefer, or maybe you don't have a preference at all! Mummy doesn't judge!"

"Hm, okay, so you're the mother in situation," Steve said. "Hm, I thought it was going to be me."

"Of course, I'm the mother, Steve. Don't be ridiculous," Eddie said.

"Yeah, I'm the ridiculous one," Steve sighed. "Why do I even like - ?"

"GOT HER!" Eddie yelled.

They got her back into her cage without any effort. They made sure she got food and water before collapsing at the kitchen table. Steve looked at Eddie, studying him.

"Hey, why did you seem so surprised that there was a baby chick in here? Did you think that I was making it up?" Steve asked.

"Well, I mean, kind of. . . ," Eddie said, scratching the back of his head.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"I thought you were asking me over to finally. . .," he said, trailing off again.

"What, Eddie?" He asked.

"I thought you asked me to finally get together!" Eddie shrieked. "Clearly, it's all in my head!"

Steve looked at him, and then he laughed. He got up, grabbed Eddie's hand, and pulled him up into his arms. He pressed their bodies together, his arm around Eddie's waist.

"It is not all in your head," Steve said. "You know, I wouldn't come up with such a lame story. I would just tell you that I wanted to see you. No tricks. No games."

Steve crashed his lips to Eddie's, and he gasped into Steve’s mouth. Eddie wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him closer. They both kissed each other eagerly, chasing each other's lips with the same energy that they had earlier. Eddie pulled away with another gasp.

"Uh, I should be honest with you, before this goes anywhere else. . .that list with the names. . .baby names. It's kind of embarrassing how much I want to have kids with you," Eddie said.

Steve kissed him again, even harder this time. He moved Eddie back, pressing him up against the wall and pressing himself further into Eddie. This was even more intense than the first one. It made Eddie whimper, and he felt his legs practically turn to jello. He gripped the back of Steve’s shirt as Steve rolled his hips into Eddie's and trailed kisses down to his neck.

"God, you're so sexy," Steve said, breathing heavily against his neck before pausing, "Hold on, no, we're not naming any children of ours Metallica. I remember that being one of the names on the list."

Steve pulled back to look at him.

"I'll get you to come around, you'll see," Eddie grinned.

"The hell you will," Steve said.

He grabbed Eddie's hand and pulled him upstairs. Eddie grinned. God, best moment of his life. . .

"Come back to bed," Steve groaned sleepily.

"Got to get a drink of water," Eddie said as he slipped on Steve’s polo.

"You're going to Winnie the Pooh it?" Steve asked.

"Hell yeah," Eddie said, laughing when Steve’s face plopped back down into the pillow.

Eddie walked downstairs. It was still pretty messy in here, he noted. They'd clean it up later. He walked into the kitchen. He moved past Stella's open and empty cage to get him a glass of water. Eddie paused and turned around. Stella's cage was empty. Oh fuck. Eddie collapsed to his knees.

"STEELLLLA!"

[weirdmarioenemies]

If you're even vaguely familiar with Kirby, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that one of the most iconic abilities is Parasol. It's a unique ability, it gets a ton of merch, and it's cute, to boot!

But when you think about it, there's not a whole lot of enemies for Parasol, is there? There's a lot of enemies that hold Parasols, there's the Parasol itself, which may or may not be sentient, but Parasol doesn't bring a wide variety of enemies to mind like, say, Fire or Spark might.

Believe it or not, there actually are a few enemies that give Parasol that neither HOLD a Parasol nor ARE "just" the Parasol...but they're wholly exclusive to a few games, and have not had a proper reappearance in the games since the SNES era. So, let me introduce you to all of them! Maybe there will even be some you like, or wish would come back!

But first, an honorary mention...

Name: Parasol (Kirby's Dream Land)

Debut: Kirby's Dream Land

You know it, you love it, it's...Parasol?!

That's right! Before it became the ability we all know and love, Parasol actually debuted in the same game Kirby did, which you might note did NOT have copy abilities! Like Waddle Doo and Sir Kibble, this is a classic example of an enemy that had an ability based around it, rather than vice versa.

I want to talk about specifically its iteration in this game, which is a bit different compared to future entries. First off and most noticeably, its appearance is wholly different! The hood is smaller and shaded but with no discernable pattern, the handle is thinner and the hook itself looks more rounded! Secondly, all Waddle Doos and Dees will let go of their parasol once they land, with none spawning while holding them or keeping them when they land anyway.

And another thing: you can't even dang inhale them when they're being held! The Waddler in question will be swallowed, but the Parasol will drift away or, in the Extra Game, even hone in on you! I told you they were debatably sentient! It actually does that in a few future games like Kirby's Adventure, but not nearly as commonly as it did in the original Extra Game. So strange!

OKAY OKAY time for what the post promised you now I promise. Hold my hand (and your Parasol) as I take you through The Parasol Enemies That Time Forgot:

Name: Floaty the Drifter

Debut: Kirby's Dream Land 2

"Floaty the Drifter", not to be confused with Floaty the Cell Core, is such a wonderful name. "Floaty" would already be a sillily obvious name on its own, on par with names like Flamer and Chilly and Cappy, but adding "the Drifter" makes it even moreso. Is that its species? Its title? Is Floaty an individual? Probably not, we see multiple of them in the same level and often, and this is not like Vividria where it's canonically an individual that just so happens to be fought in pairs for gameplay, but it's funny to consider. Imagine if they followed through with other enemies, like "Spikey the Poker", "Burnis the Scorcher", "Elec the Trocuter"…

Floaty the Drifter actually acts as the main provider for Parasol in this game, wholly replacing the titular object itself except for when Kirby uses it. On its own, it doesn't do much floating OR drifting, instead hopping around in its own little world, kind of akin to Cappy, but it lives up to its name when a Waddle Dee holds it, in which...it will just act like a normal Parasol! Wholly and entirely. Even when dropped, it flies off rather than initiate its normal grounded behavior. I think I've heard some of them fly at you when released, but I can't think of any instances of that, and that's still a Parasol behavior anyhow.

As you can tell, Floaty the Drifter's claim to fame is in its unique design, bearing a single mischievous eye and a stark green coloration only seen in artwork. In fact, despite being a one-off mook, this would even grant it its own role in the anime!

Floaty the Drifter, or just "Drifters" as they're called here (I guess it is a species!) are bought by King Dedede in the episode "Escargoon Rules" to attack Escargoon and his mother after presumably being "I'm With Stupid"’d all day. I did not watch the anime! According to the wiki, they're about as fragile as you'd expect a swarm of umbrellas to be, as while they swarm towards and wrap around victims, they are easily KO'd by Fire and knocked away by Kirby's own Parasol ability.

You might be wondering why, exactly, Floaty the Drifter even has one eye in the first place, considering that its role is largely the same as Parasol. To answer that, we'll have to move on to the next creature to feature:

Name: Jumpershoot

Debut: Kirby's Dream Land 2

I bet you never expected an ability like Parasol to have its own, dedicated midboss, did you? And such a sophisticated one, at that! It's even one of the few Kirby characters with toes, for the freaks in the audience!

As you may have guessed, Jumpershoot and, to a lesser extent, Floaty the Drifter are both based on the kasa-obake, perhaps one of the most ubiquitous yokai! And this is despite not really ever having appeared in folktales, if ever. I was always under the assumption that the kasa-obake was a tsukumogami, an umbrella after it had lived for 100 years, but apparently even this isn't set in stone, either!

Jumpershoot first appears in Big Forest, the second world of the game, and guards Coo because...some reason! I don't think it's ever mentioned why the Animal Friends are kidnapped, they kind of just are! And as for Jumpershoot, does he work for King Dedede? Dark Matter? I don't know how employed midbosses are. Mr. Frosty is on the Halberd once.

Our favorite umbrella attacks by jumping and gently falling towards the ground, then makes a rapid, Tornado-like spin around the room that, after a bit, repels attacks! Then, rather than dropping Stars, he throws his own sandal at you that you can shoot back at him! Don't worry, it regenerates, so you don't have to feel guilty for robbing him of footwear!

I really really like Jumpershoot. And apparently, so did Shimomura, because he reappears in Kirby's Dream Land 3, acting much the same but with more detailed sprites! He's such...a cool character, you know? You wouldn't expect a Parasol midboss to be a yokai, of all things, especially one that acts so rowdy! I love him!

Sadly, as much as we'd all love to, there is no game where you can play as Jumpershoot. Tragic, but true! But...you can get a taste, a crumb of its rapid spin attack by having the Parasol ability while riding Coo, which makes Coo spin around invulnerably just as he does! And while he would later find himself joining the foray of midbosses abandoned after Kirby's Dream Land 3, Parasol Coo still appears in Kirby Star Allies, so his soul is still with us...

This would be the end of the road for Jumpershoot, in terms of games, but luckily for Jumpershootheads, he would make one final appearance in a piece of Twitter art, joining a medley of other monsters by spooking Channel PPP! He's still got it!

Sadly, this wraps up the Jumpershoot section of this post, and thusly we have no more Dream Land 2 Parasol enemies to speak of. But don't worry, we still have more parasolic beasts in the next title...

Name: Sasuke

Debut: Kirby's Dream Land 3

Although Floaty had a cute design, it's rather appropriate that the enemy that replaced the Parasol of Kirby's Dream Land would itself get replaced in Kirby's Dream Land 3, isn't it? But Sasuke is no mere living umbrella!

Sasuke's design might bring to mind Bumber for our veteran readers, and its behavior is much the same! It drifts down slowly and steadily, and starts walking back and forth on whatever block it lands on, just like Parasol Waddle Dee, but its hat never detaches, so it will never not give Parasol! Personally speaking, though, I think Bumber is MUCH more cute and memorable...sorry, Sasuke! At least you will always have Naruto to confide in.

Sasuke also made an appearance in the anime, where he's built a lot more like Lololo & Lalala. Here, he draws a gun at King Dedede and Escargoon, an

Name: Klinko

Debut: Kirby's Dream Land 3

The oddest Parasol appearance in both looks and functionality, and our final Parasol giver, is Klinko! It looks like it would give Cleaning if anything, with its hat reminiscent of a besom! It doesn't even drift down slowly like every other Parasol enemy does at some point–in fact, while it hops around, it doesn't share any traits with the Parasol ability at all, and is the only Parasol enemy like that! So, why does it give Parasol, then?!

The answer is: it's not wearing an old broom, but actually a straw umbrella, because it's based on yet ANOTHER yokai! Shimomura seemed to think yokai were the future of the Parasol ability, and who wouldn't!

The amefurikozō, unlike the kasa-obake, has a bit more concrete lore, being children that appear in and sometimes cause rainfall, hence why they wear straw umbrellas. This is true of Klinko, too, as it appears in cloudy stages or stages with heavy snowfall! Its Japanese name, Kinko, might also suggest some relation to the separate yokai Yukinko, a child associated with heavy snow, which could also explain its tendency towards icy levels.

It's easy to see why such an unparasolic enemy would not be used any further, but I kind of like them more for it. They're an anomaly! Sure, this is essentially just Floaty the Drifter's hopping behavior, but the lack of any other Parasol attributes than just wearing an umbrella really make it stand out to me! And that's the beauty of these enemies—the longer Parasol goes without any new enemies, the more these guys will always stand out, and that's wonderful, I think!

What do you guys think? Is the time right for some of these guys to make a comeback? Is Parasol better with the limited enemies they use now? Or should they make new ones? Tell me! I can't do anything with your suggestions but I have nothing better to do than read them!

[urautismdiagnosis]

Captain Barnacles my beloved (click for higher quality)

<reblogs appreciated :>

My glorious man, my most wonderful guy ever

random thoughts about him under the cut

Sob I'm so many years behind in octonauts episodes I'm barely scratching the iceberg lmso but my general vibe of octonauts above and beyond so far is that "Holy Sht Global Warming" and also My tiny Friends Have Grown!! Like dude I'm so proud of them all lol

Honestly to me the captain is just in his 30s, somewhere in there, idk what his role is in the found family (father figure?? big brother???) but honestly I adore his relationships with each of the octonauts (esp with dashi ahahhagugugh!!!! and peso too augdhbf Theyre so precious he's so proud of them) I love how he and tweak just get eachother and kwazii is just like His Favorite Little Guy??? and shellington, my god-

Like this guy just adopts everything in sight istg- <3

Im starting to realize that either my autism is blinding me or maybe he's autistic too and like??? Theater kid ahhh playing the accordion and bursting into song?? Mr "I am so full of obsession and love for all of this and all of you", Mr " I got my gup struck by lightning, my arm crushed by a clam, stung by a jellyfish, nearly attacked by barracadas, thrown around violently on the back of a wall, crashed into a sunken ship, and then nearly drowned and Hahaha Yes Im Fine did you all need anything?" LIKE SIR???

Also you just know he went out and got his whole nautical fit, with the hat and everything, and just went "oh crap I cant be the only one uhhhh" and then gave EVERYONE THE CUTEST FREAKING MATCHING HATS!!!

this guy had dreams and they're coming true and all his dreams are BEAUTIFUL-

also my partner was helping me figure out his design and went "omg am I just helping u make him a dilf" and I went "nah we making him a papi" and like damn cuz- sobbing can you tell the conversation happened at A Late Hour At Night.

i gave him a single lower lash this sticks out stylishly and totally didn't give him natural polar bear eyeshadow, I also like to think that he's somewhere on the aro ace spectrum but that might just be me projecting lol

ignore the pic of a compass I stole btw that doesn't matter

i think the design might still have some room for improvement so if I've made it this far lmk if u think it could use any fun touches

(also this guys body type KILLED ME it took me sooo many tries)

ᵃˡˢᵒ ᶦᵏ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵇᵃʳⁿᵃᶜˡᵉˢ ⁿᵃᵐᵉ ᶦˢ ᵏᶦⁿᵈᵃ ʳᶦᵈᶦᶜᵘˡᵒᵘˢ ᵗᵒ ᵃˡᵒᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵖᵉᵒᵖˡᵉ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᶦᶠ ᵘ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᶦᵗ, ᵇʸ ᵖᶦʳᵃᵗᵉ ˢᵗᵃⁿᵈᵃʳᵈˢ ᶦᵗ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵇᵉ ᵃ ᵛᵉʳʸ ˢᶦᶜᵏ ᵃⁿᵈ ᶦⁿᵗᶦᵐᶦᵈᵃᵗᶦⁿᵍ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵖᵒʷᵉʳᶠᵘˡ ⁿᵃᵐᵉ. ᶜᵘᶻ ʸᵏ, ᵏᵉᵉˡʰᵃᵘˡᶦⁿᵍ…

i bet he misses bianca alot poor guy,

also here's my most cursed head canon: he's a polar bear and is often in very warm environments, so y'all think he just like.... cuts and thins his fur?

Im so sorry y'all but I can just imagine him at 2 am just crying next to a pile of his own fur because oh God this is so hard, I imagine the whole process of doing that to ur whole body routinely with tools that break is probably similar to the process of undoing protecting braids for folks who have afro textured hair, but I wouldn know personally I've just heard how much the process can be time consuming and be kinda tiring 0-0

Also I cant believe I haven't mentioned this yet but I think he's like 8 feet tall, which compared to most of his crew being at smallest 4.7 to 5.8 he's just huge compared to them XD. I tried to make like conversions based on irl animals and etc, but the captain is like literally The Tallest A Person Can Be. Like y'all know polar bears are The Largest and Tallest pawed mammals to exist??? like 13 feet tall irl

im just so proud of him he is so compassionate and supportive and cares so much about everyone and everything-

fanny pouch ahh belt

[blossomthepinkbunny]

Vivzepop will always be the biggest issue with her own show if she doesn't change. And i'm not saying that because I desperately want to shit on her but rather because it's so clear that her attitude is what made Hazbin Hotel be so dissapointing after the long wait. The pilot released four years ago and Viv had these characters for much longer than that. One could assume that with this much time on her hands she would have a concise plan for how a series of her story would play out (I can imagine that having an own show is a dream for lots of creative people out there). And I get that that plan might get screwed up by a shorter episode count then expected, but she should be the one who knows her story best and who should know what stuff could also be cut out. The first season of Hazbin Hotel is so incredibly overstuffed with characters and plot that it completely looses the main premise the show was originally pitched with (the idea of a hotel were sinners are redeemed. As it is now the hotel is really not important at all). People have talked endlessly about how Viv can't handle criticism and it really sucks because criticism is one of the best ways to improve your writing, drawings, music etc. Without criticism you won't refine the thing you're working on in a meaningful way. Of course it feels bad when you put something out there you wanted to share and then people critique it, but that's part of pretty much every creative journey, or atleast it should be and Vivzepop shouldn't get a pass from this just because she doesn't like it. And there are great shows, movies or books that are rarely or almost never criticised. But the artists behind these works probably went trough years of honing what they do by being criticised for the stuff they put out. And I don't want to say that Vivzepop didn't work hard to make Hazbin Hotel, but it is hard to claim that she improves in her craft, when everytime someone says they don't like her show she throws a hissy fit. She wants the same reactions that these other amazing pieces of media get without ever listening to criticism. Which she sees as a personal attack rather than a tool that could help her to achieve the same level of writing prowess the creators behind media like that have. She believes she is already on the same level as them, just because she basically shuts anyone out who disagrees with her. There's this clip at the end of a Drew Gooden Video which I think sums up the situation with Viv pretty good (the Video is called "Leaving the YouTube Bubble"). He is talking about Lily Singh and her talk show but I feel like a lot of the stuff he says about handling criticism applies to Vivzepop as well.

(you might have to turn up the audio).

Unprofessional behaviour like that might be excusable when the creator is pretty young or they are interacting with publicity for the first time really. But neither of that applies to Viv. And Hazbin Hotel isn't just an indie animation pilot on youtube anymore. It's now a fully realized show created with a pretty prominent studio on a major streaming network and it should be held to the same standards as other shows or movies alike (not saying indie animation or animation on youtube doesn't have a standard but with more budget and support, there's obviously going to be different expectations for the show now). There have been issues in Helluva Boss and the Hazbin Hotel pilot ever since their release which could've been handled with more time and the new show. But Vivzepop shows time and time again that she isn't willing to listen to people who criticise her, which could actually lead to her show getting better. I don't like Viv or her work a lot. I think she is incredibly unprofessional and she has done her fair share of questionable or problematic stuff, which often leads to issues in her shows. There have been some characters I like, some songs or scenes that were pretty well done, very cool animation and an actually interesting premise on paper in HH and HB. There are things that make me come back to these shows to watch the next episode. And i'm obviously passionate enough about these shows to make whole posts about what I think was done badly and what could be changed. But for the aspects of HH or HB I enjoy, there are soo many more problems I have with it. Problems that won't go away unless Viv stops seeing every criticism as a personal attack. Because if Vivzepop doesn't stop acting like her writing is some unreachable stuff that needs no changes I don't really see a point in assuming that these shows will ever get better.

[cl0wncakez]

Say whatever you want about the black and white anime, but the one thing i will always stand by is that IRIS AND CILAN WERE NEVER PART OF THE PROBLEM!!!!

i did a full watch of the bw series a few weeks back, and the main 2 complaints i had about it were ash’s pokemon (he caught too many and most of them didn’t get enough screentime as a result) and team rocket (they were like barely there and didn’t even do the blasting off gag until the last season i think)

but for me the best parts of it were iris and cilan!!! i was kinda expecting them to be annoying cuz of all the hate they got, but i was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable they were.

first off, i am the number 1 iris defender. all the posts i see that complain about her say the same thing everytime: “all iris does is say that ash is a little kid!”

well, as someone who’s binged the entire unova anime in like a week and a half, i can say that there is so much more to her. but for one, she doesn’t even say that ash is a kid as often as you might think. she mostly says it in the first few episodes when she first met ash. for the rest of the series, she’ll occasionally say it in passing, but it is not her one defining trait. while there are a few instances where i thought that it wasn’t warranted, there are plenty more times where ash was being big dummy and deserved it.

what people seem to forget about iris is that at the start of ash’s unova journey, iris is practically a new trainer. her axew is at most only a few weeks old, and her excadrill, while strong, hasn’t battled for who knows how long after being brutally defeated by drayden’s haxorous, leaving it in a state of shock. so obviously, she isn’t going to be the most experienced trainer out there.

iris grew up in the village of dragons, which as the name suggests, is a village inhabited by various dragon type pokemon. having spent her whole life surrounded by dragon types, iris has made it her dream to become a dragon type master. while at the beginning of her journey, she’s just with her axew, she over time has several encounters with dragon type pokemon, all of which help her better understand how to communicate with dragon types.

in one episode, she helped a druddigon out from a trap set by team rocket, while everyone else assumed it was rampaging out of anger. in another, the gang were helping out at a pokemon daycare, and in it was a deino, who was extremely shy. it’s trainer hadn’t returned for days after they said they would (the trainer ended up getting lost in a cave) and it was beginning to refuse to eat due to its anxiety. and what did iris do? she stayed with the deino the whole night, helping it relax in a place it wasn’t familiar with. it’s episodes like these that show that she’s not a one dimensional character, and like the rest of ash’s companions, she has character development.

but what helped fully flesh out her arc was when she caught her dragonite.

unlike axew, who was by her side from the beginning, she and dragonite did not get along immediately. dragonite was stubborn, wouldn’t listen to iris, and had its own way of battling. in order to become a dragon master, she would first have to understand dragonite. the trust that was built happened really slowly, but she did get there. by understanding a pokemon as troubled as her dragonite, iris would then be able to reach out and soothe her excadrill, making it confident enough to battle again, and help axew evolve after her journey with ash ended. and i think that was a solid way to end her arc until pokemon journeys, where offscreen, she fulfilled her dream as a dragon master and became the champion of unova.

now onto cilan.

cilan doesn’t get hated on nearly as much as iris, he’s more or less just forgotten about. so while i was expecting to hate iris when i first started watching, i had zero expectations on cilan. and tbh, i think he’s my favorite traveling companion?? if not than at least top 3.

cilan is the oldest of three siblings, and he first met ash and iris when ash came to battle at the triplet’s restaurant/gym. usually, the challenger only battles one of them, but ash was the first person to want to challenge all 3 brothers. when it was cilan’s turn to battle, he assumed that he would win due to him having the type advantage (ash choosing to battle with oshawott against cilan’s pansage)

well, ash won. and a few episodes later, cilan asked if he could join ash on his journey. the reason cilan wanted to come along was because he saw a new side to pokemon battling that he wanted to better understand.

something about cilan is that while he is a gym leader, he doubles as a pokemon connoisseur. a connoisseur is someone who makes critical judgements in fine arts or matters of taste. for cilan, he analyzes the bond between trainer and pokemon. and during his battle with ash, he evaluated his and oshawotts bond based on their battle. and he dug INTO ash, almost outright insulting his capabilities as a trainer, due to his assumptions from ash using a water type against a pansage.

but the thing is, cilan was wrong. in the end, oshawott ended up winning with ash’s strategy and support.

he fully expected to win, and was given an entirely new perspective of battling after seeing ash pull through. like cooking, pokemon battles aren’t just about type advantage and throwing moves out. it’s about thinking outside the box and trusting your pokemon, which ash accomplished by having oshawott use its scallchop to deflect a bullet seed attack. wanting to become a better trainer and connoisseur, cilan tagged along to gain a new understanding between trainer and pokemon.

and outside of his arc, cilan is just a genuinely fun character!!! did you know that along with being a pokemon connoisseur, this man is also a fishing, cooking, detective, judge, and film connoisseur??? and he can cook!! (EDIT: people are mentioning that he is also a train connoisseur!!! sorry :( i forgor)

cilan is shown to be more composed with his emotions than the previous traveling partners ash had. he also plays a mediator role whenever ash and iris bicker. and remember, cilan is the oldest sibling of 3 triplets, so he’s likely had to play mediator countless times if his brothers ever argued. ash and iris also seem to have a sibling-like bond, so their clashing was probably similar to what cilan faced before with cress and chili.

as i said, cilan is much more patient and gentleman-like. so the few moments where he genuinely loses his shit leaves a stronger impact.

the most notable example was with skyla, who instead of fulfilling her gym duties, played out battles in her head, and made her own judgements on if she could win a battle or not. this lead to challengers either being pushed away without a chance to battle, or given a gym badge without deserving it.

now cilan, who is a gym leader, sees this as a disgrace. it goes against everything a gym leader is supposed to do. skyla was lazy, arrogant, and wouldn’t do her job, which set him off. while he did lose against skyla, it was a big character moment to try and defend his honor as a gym leader.

overall, cilan is soooooo cool you guys don’t get him the way i do!!! i am the number 1 cilan fan!!!!

i think the reason people complain about iris and cilan more than any other companions ash had is because they were different.

iris had a completely different goal than everyone before her, it was a complete 180. she had zero interest in contests or performing, her dragon master dream was brand new in the anime. additionally, her relationship with ash was more like siblings than best friends, which likely made some viewers think their bickering was annoying.

and cilan. poor guy didn’t even have a chance from the start. not after brock was around for like a billion seasons.

overall, the black and white anime does have its problems, as does every pokemon anime. but leave iris and cilan out of it THEY ARE INNOCENT PARTIES :(

[risuola]

REAL LIFE SURPRISE — GN. READER x GOJO SATORU

Life has been heavy on your shoulders lately, so instead of going out with your friends on a halloween night, you decided to stay in bed, catch up on the last episodes of JJK and just rest. With that in mind, you fall asleep while watching the second season, but what you couldn't prepare yourself for is the voice that wakes you up.

cw: none really, except for anime spoilers, season 2, but everything written happened already in the anime — 1,4k words

a/n: it's just my brain babbling, don't mind me. I had this idea for a long time now, it's written quickly so errors might occur!

It was halloween night, you're alone in your house. Life has been heavy on you lately, so you decided to stay at home, binge watch anime - you had few eps of your favorite anime to catch up on. You've been so busy for the past few weeks that you weren't even thinking about watching JJK, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity.

And you did just that; snuggled with blankets, you put the second season on. First part somewhat eased your mind. Gojo's memories really filled you with melancholy, it cleared many things from what you watched in the first season. Then the Shibuya arc started. It was exciting, even though you kinda knew what will happen, you read the manga, but the animation just hits different.

Your eyelids began growing heavy, the pillow below your cheek seemed to suck your consciousness away and finally, you just passed out. The sounds of episodes playing in the background did nothing to wake you up, even the light from the screen wasn't bothering you as you dozed off into the dream lands. And you'd probably be sleeping until morning. You'd wake up not knowing where you really stopped watching, but that's okay - you can always start over, you loved the anime after all. But you didn't sleep that long.

You woke up nervously, the sound of a long hum made your eyes flutter open in an instant. You noticed the screen in front of you, it wasn't playing anymore, the video stopped and you recognized the scene from the manga - Gojo just got sealed into the prison realm, but when you looked closer, you could tell the screen was glitching. It never did this before.

"You're awake," the voice reminded you of itself and you almost shit your pants. Someone was in your room, someone was inside your house. And the tone... it seemed oddly familiar, you felt like you know it from somewhere, but there's not a single person you could really tie it to. But you knew the voice, you knew it for sure.

Without thinking much, you grabbed the first thing near you. Armed with the soft-cover notebook you jolted up, ready to aim the deadly weapon at the intruder, but your heart stopped at the sight.

A man was there, sprawled on the chair next to your desk. His long legs clad in black pants were spread widely as he was sitting comfortably, leaning against the backrest as if he wasn't inside your house. But it wasn't his large form that shocked you the most. It was his features. A human, but ethereal in every way. In the faint light of the led strips on your wall, you could tell his hair was light, maybe even white, just as the thick row of lashes that framed his eyes. His face was gorgeous, too perfect to be real but he was real, he was there.

"Let me turn the light on," he chuckled, noticing how much you struggled to see him in the pathetic imitation of lights. He got up, nearly hitting his head on the cheap chandelier in the middle of your ceiling and once his long fingers flicked the lights on, you nearly passed out. He really had white hair and it was easy to tell that it was white by nature. There was not a single discoloration near his roots nor a sign of it being dyed. It wasn't a wig either. And his eyes... bright blue, almost glowing with their crystalline beauty.

"What the hell is going on?", you asked, still gripping the notebook for dear life as if it was going to harm anyone. You probably couldn't kill a fly with it, not to say this tower of a man.

"Hmmm, I'm probably just as confused as you are," he replied, this time dropping his weight onto the edge of your bed. "I got sealed, my bad. I suppose the prison realm sent me into some kind of different dimention."

You blinked at him, taking in the information but your brain refused to register it properly. What the hell does he mean he got sealed?

"It's quite odd actually," he continued, "I can't really feel any cursed energy in here, or maybe my six eyes are not working all that well in this world. I hoped you'll tell me what kind of dimension it is. Ah, sorry, how rude of me. Gojo Satoru, nice to meet you."

"The fuck you mean Gojo Satoru?!", you nearly screamed, throwing the notebook at him, doing about as much damage as you suspected. None. He just dodged it. "It's not a dimension, it's the real world. You do not exist, you're a character from anime, for god's sake..."

"That's harsh, sweetheart," he chuckled.

Maybe it was a prank? Maybe your friends wanted to scare the shit out of you, maybe it was a cosplayer? Very good one, but it would make more sense than him being here. How the fuck he even got here? You're sure you locked all doors and windows were closed as well. And why was your computer stuck on the frame in the video?

"It's not funny," you whined, getting up from the bed and leaving the room to check on the doors. It really frightened you to see that everything was exactly how you left it. It was closed in the same, very odd way you always do it, with the upper lock twisted two times, the lower one twisted just once and the key still hanging from the keyhole. The windows were just as you left them as well, all closed except one in the kitchen - the one that's too small for anyone to squeeze in and it had an anti-mosquitoes mesh outside. You were also on the 7th floor. What was going on?! "It's really not funny..."

"You seem really nervous for someone who just woken up, you know?", the man followed you and when you looked at him, he was standing next to the entrance to your room, leaning against the doorframe. "I must admit, I can't really recognize myself in the mirror, I remember my face slightly different."

"Yeah, like this?", you grabbed your phone and showed him your homescreen. Embarassment of having his picture both there and on the lockscreen you pushed away, it wasn't important right now. His gorgeously blue eyes scanned the wallpaper, the orbs glistened in the harsh light of your screen and you listened to the soft hum he made. You suddenly realized why his voice sounded familiar. It was Gojo's voice. Or rather his voice actor's...

"Oh yes, that's more like it," the man gave it a nod and then turned to look at himself in the small mirror on your wall. "Still handsome though. What you think?"

"You are gorgeous, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT," you almost screamed. What do even do in this situation?

"Well, I suppose I'll stay in this world for as long as my students get me out of the prison realm," he said matter-of-factly, shrugging with nonchalance, completely unbothered by the way he isn't supposed to exist in this world. "What about the cursed energy? Are you heavenly restricted or-"

"There's no such thing as cursed energy in real world. No six eyes, no limitless, no cursed spirits, domain expansions, no nothing. In this world we are just flesh and bones. Strength is measured in brains, muscles and money. Nothing else."

"That's interesting," he paused for a moment, taking in the information. You could tell he was more confused than before but still, he was keeping himself together better than you.

"Listen, it's not like I don't believe you but... is there any way you could prove that you are Gojo Satoru? I mean, I don't even know if it's possible... Fuck, you're not supposed to be anything more than an animated drawing," you shook your head, slowly feeling paranoid. If that was a joke, it really was a good one.

"Prove? I mean, I'm not sure, never needed to confirm my identity," the man chuckled. "If I don't have my powers in here, it might be complicated. But you can check, I'm not dressed as anyone. It's my hair, my face. Jujutsu uniform, though it's slightly bloodied now. I have my blindfold with me."

"Sure, sure... Nevermind, I'm just confused. I'll wash your clothes, I guess... tomorrow I'll get you something to change. You can stay here."

"Thanks, sweetheart," he smiled at you. Stupidly attractive.

Deep down you wished you're sleeping. Maybe it's your brain that's playing tricks on you, maybe it's just a fantasy. There was no way this man was standing here, in your little kitchen right now, waiting for his tea to be made. There was no way he could somehow get out of the screen and just... materialize in your little studio apartment. There was just no way, right?

Right?

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Recaps 2024 - Japan [Thailand | Korea.]

Ok, the individual show's recaps will be shorter in this one, because there are too many shows I've loved. I am partial to Japan, so it shouldn't be surprising.

We've had 4 different shows that had BL's within BL's. Which is a lot. And also kind of amazing. I'll start with those and then move on to all the others.

The Last One of 2023 and the First One of 2024 - I Became the Lead in a BL Drama: Crank up Edition

I love them and I can't believe I will get more of them this year. the comedy is great and they are both so earnest and adorable.

The One With the Slope - At 25:00 in Akasaka

They rewired my brain. One of my big obsessions of the year. The show within the show was used so efficiently. And Hayama. What a phenomenal character. I love pining boys, but this was on another level. A stand out moment was when Hayama finally chose himself and left Shirasaki before going too far, and tainting the beautiful memories they had created together.

The One With the Fourth Wall - A Man Who Defies the World of BL 3

Adding the making of a bl to this one was particularly interesting. That and the triangle made this season particularly fun to watch. Also Hatano was an incredible addition to the story and the filming of the bl was both adorable and heart breaking at times. A huge thanks to @ikeoji-subs for making it possible to watch.

The One With All the Tropes - Twilight Out of Focus

What a beautiful and lovely show. Just a gift for the eyes and a really fun and adorable watch. My favourite couple was the first, but I liked things about all of them. Such interesting use of tropes.

The One About Family - Ossan's Love Returns

I should thank @twig-tea everyday for convincing me to watch this one, even though I hadn't watch the previous ones. This is such a sweet show, with endearing characters and amazing family dynamics. Haruta and Maki deliver such sweet romance moments and Kurosawa makes me laugh so hard. It wasn't perfect but it was so so good.

The One With the Cutest Puppy - Sugar Dog Life

With so many disappointments, this show stands out by executing a simple and heart warming story really well. Isumi is the most adorable lonely boy and even though I wanted to strangle Amasawa at points, it all made sense in this context. They have great chemistry and their scenes together had a warmth that felt real.

The One With the Glass - Takara no Vidro

I will never get tired of someone falling for a crush because they were kind. It's something that Japan does a lot and I will always root for those characters. Taishin was such a beautiful character to watch grow and learn about his own feelings. And I adore Takara. His fear that his love for Taishin would bring out his possessiveness, and much like glass, if he held on too tight he might crush it, was heartbreaking to watch.

The One With the Succulents - Love Is a Poison

I just spoke a bit about it in my monthly breakdown so I'll just say one more thing about it. The visual effects in this show were used incredibly well, as were Shiba's insane dream sequences. The dropped green ink, the shine in the succulents and the heart eyes on Haruto. Perfection. Oh and the sound effects of the succulents. Freaking adorable.

The One With the Two Lonely Boys - Perfect propose

These two were looking for connection and a place to rest and found it in each other. It was short and gentle and sweet and managed to say a lot even though we only had them for 6 episodes.

The Other Magical Adaptation - Cherry Magic Anime

I would watch this story over and over again. And to have this one airing at the same time as the thailand adaptation was a joy. I feel the characters in this one are closest to the ones in the manga, they feel less perfect for lack of a better world. I want to rewatch this one soon.

The One With the Food and the Dog - Mr. Mitsuya's Planned Feeding

One of my new comfort watches. It's adorable in a very realistic way. The acting feels effortless, everybody feels comfortable in their roles, and all the supporting characters have purpose and play a part in the main romance. The best BL dog ever and all the food looked amazing and kept bringing me back to Kinou Nani Tabeta, which is not surprising since it shares a director with it. Thank you to @isaksbestpillow for allowing us to watch.

The One With the Amazing Women - She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat

I spoke about this one several times. I watched both seasons this year, my full review is here. I love all of them, although Kasuga holds a special place in my heart.

That's it for the breakdown by country. I still have one more post I wanna make with a couple of other bl's that I couldn't fit in these posts. Let's see if I find the time and the spoons for it. 💜

[marzghost]

So I had a dream where Pearl had posted a video about some vacation she had taken with Jimmy and Grian to New York and it started off with her explaining how she didn't have time to record a Minecraft video like usual so she tried something different and the video was basically a whole well done paper puppet animated episode that looked somewhat inspired by Flapjack with title cards and everything? It started off with a retelling of the first day they arrived and how jimmy was told by a sea captain sailor stranger that he smelled before Tango came and defended his honor and fought the guy, a reaction video basically because the puppets were watching wicked the musical, and ended with all three talking to Elmo on Sesame Street about the experience. Keep in mind it's all like these really pretty and cool paper puppets based on their Minecraft skins. I scrolled down and then I saw another video and it was basically Pearl talking to Tango and Skizz how well the other video did that she might do it again because apparently the people crave it and Skizz and Tango were basically nodding and agreeing with her saying they might do something like that as well. Crazy, I know ,I just had to put it out here because I just felt like it needed to be known.

[tobiasdrake]

Here we go, it's Ranma time. Episode 5! The introduction to Ryoga continues.

God, I love how mournfully quiet this is.

This is what happens when women write women. Male writers don't often think about things like just how much a long-haired girl's hair means to her. Akane's been growing that out for years.

Look at how little she was when she started growing her hair. That is the product of years. Many years. Gone in an instant.

But she rolls with the punches. Akane has remarkable emotional fortitude. She'd kind of have to in order to survive all the shit she's had to put up with in her day-to-day life.

I love that they leave so much unstated, yet clearly implied, about the way her long hair relates to her longstanding crush on Dr. Tofu. When she says she wants to grow it out so she can be like Kasumi, there's an implication there that she thinks Dr. Tofu will like her more if she has Kasumi's hairstyle.

She's trying to walk in her big sister's shoes so that the man who likes her big sister might look her way. An idea that was doomed from the moment of its conception. She was never going to beat Kasumi at being Kasumi, and if she has to try, then she's already failed.

The manga's a bit more explicit about this, as Kasumi directly tells Baby Akane that Dr. Tofu won't like her very much if she keeps acting like a boy. From that, she draws the conclusion that having hair like Kasumi will make him like her more. But the reboot anime keeps it implied and understated.

So there's a lot going on here when Akane breaks down and cries into Dr. Tofu's chest. This is the end of an era. The loss of her hair symbolizes the death of a child's dream. The end of her efforts to be more like Kasumi so that this man would like her better, and the beginning of a new era where someone else out there will like her for being Akane.

While also demonstrating how much she leans on and depends on Dr. Tofu as a stabilizing figure in her life. She feels safe enough with him to finally let down her walls and cry out the grief over her lost hair, in a way she doesn't have at school or at home. Ironically mourning the death of her pursuit of him to him.

My dude, you desperately need to get a hobby. Supervillains are more considerate. Giving some real Vegeta energy here, but specifically the TeamFourStar kind.

And also the Tendo home desperately needs to get some door locks because he just strolled right on in here to do this.

And they both get punished for this.

Story of Ranma's life.

Takahashi's comedy remains incredible. Kasumi objects to Akane going out there not because she doesn't think Akane can take the mystery robber but because she wants Akane to hit him with something heavier.

I want that too. So Kasumi and I are on the same page.

She does, too. Nails Ryoga right in the back of the neck with a long-range shotput throw of that fucking barbell. Akane wins Ranma v. Ryoga, Round 2.

The moral of the story is to... not... do... anything that Ryoga did here.

...or, really, anything that Ryoga ever does. Don't be like Ryoga. That's sound life advice. (Not that the rest of the cast is any better.)

Immediately followed by Kasumi with another punchline. Man, I did not remember how funny she is.

Akane's rematch with Ryoga goes super well too. She is on fire.

Sincerely want to know what could possibly have possessed him to think jumping Akane while in piglet form was a good idea.

So begins the saga of P-chan.

AND ALL FOR BREAD AND BREAD-RELATED PRODUCTS

My dude.

The curry bun was not worth it.

Like.

Like. The part where Ranma knocked Ryoga into the piggy spring without noticing and then Genma tried to fucking eat him? Yeah. I can see being homicidally mad about that.

But he didn't even know that was them until literally this scene. Everything up to this point has been Ryoga blaming Ranma because he, Ryoga, stalked Ranma to China to avenge his curry bun.

Speaking of Genma.

I love how he just walks in on his son in girly form having Naked Bath Time with some random boy, and his response is to just... apologize and peace out. Whatever this is, it's none of his business.

Actually, not just any random boy. Specifically the random boy that got Ranma in trouble earlier tonight when he snuck into their bedroom for a late-night call.

Genma definitely thinks these two are up to shenanigans.

Literally the only member of her family that actually objects to Ranma sneaking into Akane's room late at night to do shenanigans to her (read: trying to fucking extract Ryoga from an unsuspecting Akane's bed) is Kasumi. Who merely scolds Ranma for moving too fast.

Is it any wonder she doesn't feel safe being emotionally vulnerable at home?

(Seriously, though, there is so much drama that could be avoided if Ranma would just tell Akane that P-chan is Ryoga. She has a right to know that, and not telling her makes Ranma complicit in Ryoga's shittiness.)

[aceofwhump]

what are some of your favorite graceland whump fics?? :D

Ooooh my BOY! There is not enough whump fanfics for Mike Warren in the world my friend. Here are some of my favorites:

The Silver Lining is in the Stuffed Animal by cancerthecrabbo Summary: When Bello spots him and attacks him in prison, Mike is a little worse for wear. With his stitches pulled out, Charlie takes him to the hospital before they go back to Graceland. Mike, in all his painkiller-induced loopiness, is adorable. The Graceland family takes advantage of the situation to get some blackmail.

what is a half-blind wolf (but a lamb missing an eye?) by cancerthecrabbo Summary: "Mike expects Bello to get between the two of them, perhaps elect to interrogate him, which might leave him some room to stay undercover. Instead, he takes a step back and gives Eddie a slow nod. He hands Eddie the gun.“ An alternate ending to the episode Pizza Box in which Bello decides to put his trust in Eddie, which means Eddie can dispose of Mike as he wishes. The tactical team waiting nearby gets to them before Eddie can kill Mike but not before he makes the saying an eye for an eye quite literal.

i dream with my eyes open by sonofahurricane Summary: When Eddie attacks Mike, Mike walks away but doesn’t get off easily.AU for 1x04, Pizza Box.

Lightshow by busigt_81 Summary: Mike loves running, it clears his head and helps him think about whats going on in his life and he needs it now more than ever.

Anchor by VampirePam Summary: When Mike crashes hard after his first reversal, Briggs is there to pick up the pieces. Missing scene from the pilot.

Panic by petersnotkingyet Summary: Bates wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Mike having a panic attack. Bromance ensues.

Three in the Morning by IveGotRedHair Summary: Mike’s not feeling well and Paige tries to make it better, he might be the new guy but Graceland is family.

Those Blue Eyes by Rosebud5 Summary: When Mike is stabbed and in critical condition, the Graceland family realizes just how much their dorky Levi means to each of them. Takes place during the “Smoke Alarm” episode, with some Mike/Paige and a few hints of Johnny/Charlie.

Under the Cover of Violence by GracelandFan Summary: Mike has to go undercover as a victim of domestic violence. Briggs has to play the abuser. All is going well until one nosy cop decides to help Mike out of his situation.

Reveal Those Baby Blues by Suitslover14 Summary: At least this time he didn’t have to call Charlie and Paige and Jakes, telling them that Mike had been stabbed and he had left him to chase after some nightmare in his past. At least this time Mike had a hell of a better chance of surviving. That is if he could just reveal those baby blues.

Not So Happy Birthday by WhumpageLover Summary: It’s Mike’s birthday, but the day doesn’t turn out so happy.

Dark by Miss DiNozzo Summary: Tags to 1x04, Pizza Box. Mike’s not doing well.

Mike Whump by TaliaFox Summary: Basically, a series of one-shots about hurt!Mike. Involved will be shooting, stabbing, kidnapping, etc. Mainly will be Mike and Paul, but others will be included. NOT SLASH.

Mike’s Mystery by WhumpageLover Summary: Mike comes home, beaten and covered in blood, after being gone for three days. He doesn’t want to talk about what happened, so it’s up to the gang to find out what happened to their Levi.

Sick Mike Oneshots by Miss DiNozzo Summary: As a huge sickfic fan, I’ve really wanted to see more sick!Mike. So naturally I wrote a million stories about it.

I've Had My Run, Baby, I'm Done (Let Me Go Home) by fanficfanatic826 Summary: What was he thinking?? He wasn’t..that’s the problem. He wasn’t. He wasn’t thinking when he shoved a couple of pairs of clothes in his backpack and left. He wasn’t thinking when he bought the one-way red-eye plane ticket to LA (in cash). He wasn’t thinking when he caught the cab here. No…Mike wasn’t thinking. He wasn’t thinking about Briggs and Charlie and Johnny. He wasn’t thinking about how safe Graceland was. He wasn’t thinking. Or Mike shows up to Graceland without warning fleeing an abusive relationship. This is a story about how the Graceland gang helps him heal.

Our Home By The Sea by PUNK_MENACE Summary: Something's amiss in Graceland—the living room is untidy and the dishes are still dirty. According to the chore wheel, Mikey is to blame. The question is, why? (Domestic!AU, no FBI or undercover messiness. Just the regular messiness of a handful of weirdos living together.)

Holding On For Dear Life by failed_turing_test Summary: mike is still getting the hang of surfing. briggs is still getting the hang of… lots of things.

a burning hill by girlfailurewhumps Summary: So many things hold memories; images, sounds, smells. Mike can't deal with the memories from this one